County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is part of the new Durham Tees Valley Research Alliance along with South Tees and North Tees NHS Foundation Trusts, and has been recruiting patients for the national COVID-19 research trial which has made a major breakthrough in the fight against the virus.
Almost 100 patients cared for by CDDFT agreed to take part in the RECOVERY study, a national clinical trial aiming to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. Across the Alliance, nearly 500 patients from the region have entered the study.
James Limb, Director of Research and Innovation, explains, “Three months ago, there were no known treatments for COVID-19. The RECOVERY Trial, led by Oxford University and set up in record time at the start of the pandemic, is testing seven potential treatments and, thanks to the willingness of patients recruited to the study and the work of our teams, we’ve been contributing vital data. Nationally, nearly 12000 patients are part of the trial.”
“Recently, it was announced that the trial has identified a clear survival benefit to giving a daily dose of a drug called dexamethasone to any patient ill enough with COVID-19 to need oxygen or ventilation. The significance of this result is enormous – dexamethasone is inexpensive, well-tolerated, easily available, and it is the first drug anywhere to show an improvement in survival for COVID patients. The actual results show a one third reduction in deaths in patients ill enough to be on a ventilator, and a one fifth reduction in those needing oxygen.”
“Whilst all hospitalised COVID-19 patients should be considered for dexamethasone, the RECOVERY trial is continuing to test other potential treatments for COVID including convalescent plasma from survivors, and tocilizumab, a drug which alters the immune response. Another six COVID-19 trials are also underway in our hospitals, as well as a range of trials for other conditions. We encourage all patients to take part in research – their help plays an important part in improving medical care.
