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2020/21 has been challenging in how we respond to rapidly undertaking research to support the national COVID-19 research portfolio. As with many other hospitals, existing clinical studies were paused to focus support to urgent public health research to find treatments and vaccines in the fight against COVID-19.
RECOVERY is an international clinical trial which aims to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. It is currently active in over 181 sites and has a global recruitment of 40,062 patients. Northampton General Hospital played a significant role and was recognised as one of the top ten recruiting sites, recruiting over 500 patients.
A range of potential treatments have been suggested for COVID-19 but nobody knows if any of them will turn out to be more effective in helping people recover than the usual standard of hospital care which all patients will receive. The RECOVERY Trial is currently testing some of these suggested treatments:
- Baricitinib (an immunomodulatory drug used in rheumatoid arthritis).
- Dimethyl Fumarate (an immunomodulatory drug used in psoriasis and multiple sclerosis).
- High-dose vs standard corticosteroids.
Data from the trial are regularly reviewed so that any effective treatment can be identified quickly and made available to all patients. More information on can be found on the RECOVERY trail website.