The corticosteroids dexamethasone or hydrocortisone should be given to all critically ill patients with COVID-19, according to strong new recommendations from the WHO.

The updated guidance follows the publication of new evidence overnight showing that the corticosteroids could cut the risk of death by 34% for those with severe or critical disease.

Findings from the meta-analysis of seven clinical trials, published in JAMA, also suggested that the benefit seen in the studies represented a class effect of corticosteroids, researchers say.

“We’ve got a consistent message from all these trials, and the effect of hydrocortisone appears consistent with the effect of dexamethasone,” said lead author Professor Jonathan Sterne, from Bristol University in the UK, on behalf of the WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies Working Group.