A study at the University of Oxford revealed that a commonly used asthma treatment appears to help in reducing the need for hospitalizations and improves recovery time for COVID-19 patients if given within seven days since the onset of symptoms.

In a Reuters report, the findings were made following a mid-stage study of the steroid ‘budesonide’, sold as Pulmicort by AstraZeneca Plc and also used for treating smoker’s lungs.

The study conducted in 28 days was participated by 146 patients. It was found that the inhalation of the budesonide drug reduced the risk of urgent care or hospitalization by 90%.

RELATED STORY: Dialysis patients in Abu Dhabi get priority for COVID-19 vaccine

Oxford researchers said the trial was inspired by the fact that patients with chronic respiratory disease were not well represented during the early days of the pandemic.

Volunteers who were treated with budesonide recovered quicker from fever and fewer persistent symptoms.

“I am heartened that a relatively safe, widely available and well studied medicine … could have an impact on the pressures we are experiencing during the pandemic,” Mona Bafadhel, lead investigator of the trial.

READ ON: COVID-19 manufacturer says people may need vaccine shots every year

Pulmicort was a blockbuster drug developed by AstraZeneca. Results from the Oxford University study are not published in a peer-reviewed journal.