Medics have found that blood-thinning drugs can increase the chances of surviving coronavirus.
Doctors at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London have discovered that most critically ill patients suffer deadly blood clots, the Telegraph reports.
The breakthrough - made thanks to hi-tech dual energy CAT scans - has raised hopes that an effective treatment against the deadly bug has been found.
It comes after specialists at the hospital's severe respiratory failure unit examined the lung scans of more than 150 seriously ill patients.
Dr Brijesh Patel, an intensive care consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital, said the discovery has the potential to "save lives".
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"I think the majority of patients will end up on significant therapeutic doses of blood-thinning agents as we learn more about this disease," he said.
It is understood that NHS England is poised to issue new guidance off the back of the findings, advising carefully administered doses of blood-thinning drugs for those critically ill with Covid-19.
Clinical trials will also be fast-tracked as part of government efforts to find a treatment or vaccine for the deadly bug.
However, medics have warned that the drugs, known as anti-coagulants, must be used "in the right way" to avoid causing unintended harm as blood-thinning can also be deadly.
The doctors believe that blood clotting could explain why low oxygen levels have been regularly recorded in coronavirus patients with no breathlessness.
Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said: “This intravascular clotting is a really nasty twist that we haven’t seen before with many other viruses.
"It does sort of explain the rather extraordinary clinical picture that is being observed with people becoming very hypoxic, very low on oxygen and not really being particularly breathless."
Findings from the research are due to be published next week.
