President Trump’s team of physicians revealed Sunday that he was being treated with dexamethasone, and health experts immediately voiced concern. The powerful steroid has shown promise for treating patients with severe covid-19 who are getting supplemental oxygen, as Trump was, but may cause harm for those with minor infections.
The use of dexamethasone, experts say, contrasts with White House physician Sean Conley’s rosy assessments of Trump’s battle with the virus. Typically used to treat inflammation, dexamethasone was credited with improving the survival for critically ill coronavirus patients in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Trump’s doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., cited the positive research when they disclosed that they prescribed the steroid after Trump’s oxygen levels concerningly dropped to 93 percent. Healthy blood oxygen levels range from 95 to 100 percent. Continue reading.