Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS Fife has been a research site in the RECOVERY Trial, a UK-wide research project looking at a number of potential treatment options for patients with the virus.

The most significant breakthrough in the project so far has been the discovery that the use of a particular steroid, dexamethasone, can considerably reduce the number of patients dying as a result of contracting COVID-19. The drug was shown to reduce deaths by as much as one-third in patients requiring intensive care and one-fifth in patients requiring oxygen.

As a result of this clinical trial, the use of dexamethasone has now become the standard treatment the care of patients with moderate and severe COVID-19.

The Principal Investigator for the trial in Fife is Dr Devesh Dhasmana, a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, who is working alongside NHS Fife’s Research and Development Department to coordinate the project locally.

Dr Dhasmana said of the trial:

"While coronaviruses themselves have been around for a number of years, the virus that causes COVID-19 is new and more dangerous in a way that previous viruses had not been. It’s crucial that we learn as much as we can about the virus, and as quickly as we can, so that we can improve the range and impact of our available treatments.

"The early findings of the RECOVERY Trial are really encouraging and are particularly helpful to us as medical staff in better informing the decisions we make in the care and treatment of patients now.

"Not only is the breakthrough discovered in the use of dexamethasone a world first, crucially it is already directly improving the treatment of COVID-19 for our most unwell patients here in Fife."

The RECOVERY project is one of a number of clinical trials NHS Fife’s Research and Development Department is supporting to improve the treatment of COVID-19 and a host of other conditions.

The Board’s Research and Development Department coordinates a wide range of research studies, ranging from international multi-centre drug trials to short term student projects. In 2019, NHS Fife’s Research and Development programme was involved in over 250 different studies involving around 1,500 participants.

The Research and Development Department is also responsible for ensuring that all research within NHS Fife meets national quality standards and complies with all relevant regulation and legislation.