Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20525247›Full record

ArticleCritical care (London, England)2010

Global utilization of low-dose corticosteroids in severe sepsis and septic shock: a report from the PROGRESS registry.

Richard Beale, Jonathan M Janes, Frank M Brunkhorst, Geoffrey Dobb, Mitchell M Levy, Greg S Martin, Graham Ramsay, Eliezer Silva, Charles L Sprung, Benoit Vallet and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Critical care (London, England), 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.4field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The cost-effectiveness of adjunctive corticosteroids for patients with septic shock.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2020
    Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Clinician preferences for prescription of corticosteroids in patients with septic shock: an international survey.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2021
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Urosepsis--Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2015
    Review
  12. It's About Time ….Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies · 2015
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Current Use of Steroids in Critical Care.SOJ anesthesiology & pain management · 2014
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Sepsis: a review for the neurohospitalist.The Neurohospitalist · 2012
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 11 institutions in 8 countries.

Richard BealeDivision of Asthma, King's College London, Guy's, Campus, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK. richard.beale@gstt.nhs.uk
Jonathan M Janes
Frank M Brunkhorst
Geoffrey Dobb
Mitchell M Levy
Greg S Martin
Graham Ramsay
Eliezer Silva
Charles L Sprung
Benoit Vallet
Jean-Louis Vincent
Timothy M Costigan
Amy G Leishman
Mark D Williams
Konrad Reinhart
Eli Lilly (United States) · USFriedrich Schiller University Jena · DEBroomfield Hospital · GBEmory University · USGuy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust · GBHadassah Medical Center · ILHospital Israelita Albert Einstein · BRRhode Island Hospital · USRoyal Perth Hospital · AUUniversité Libre de Bruxelles · BEUniversité Lille Nord de France · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe benefits and use of low-dose corticosteroids (LDCs) in severe sepsis and septic shock remain controversial. Surviving sepsis campaign guidelines suggest LDC use for septic shock patients poorly responsive to fluid resuscitation and vasopressor therapy. Their use is suspected to be wide-spread, but paucity of data regarding global practice exists. The purpose of this study was to compare baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients treated or not treated with LDC from the international PROGRESS (PROmoting Global Research Excellence in Severe Sepsis) cohort study of severe sepsis.

methodsPatients enrolled in the PROGRESS registry were evaluated for use of vasopressor and LDC (equivalent or lesser potency to hydrocortisone 50 mg six-hourly plus 50 microg 9-alpha-fludrocortisone) for treatment of severe sepsis at any time in intensive care units (ICUs). Baseline characteristics and hospital mortality were analyzed, and logistic regression techniques used to develop propensity score and outcome models adjusted for baseline imbalances between groups.

resultsA total of 8,968 patients with severe sepsis and sufficient data for analysis were studied. A total of 79.8% (7,160/8,968) of patients received vasopressors, and 34.0% (3,051/8,968) of patients received LDC. Regional use of LDC was highest in Europe (51.1%) and lowest in Asia (21.6%). Country use was highest in Brazil (62.9%) and lowest in Malaysia (9.0%). A total of 14.2% of patients on LDC were not receiving any vasopressor therapy. LDC patients were older, had more co-morbidities and higher disease severity scores. Patients receiving LDC spent longer in ICU than patients who did not (median of 12 versus 8 days; P <0.001). Overall hospital mortality rates were greater in the LDC than in the non-LDC group (58.0% versus 43.0%; P <0.001). After adjusting for baseline imbalances, in all mortality models (with vasopressor use), a consistent association remained between LDC and hospital mortality (odds ratios varying from 1.30 to 1.47).

conclusionsWidespread use of LDC for the treatment of severe sepsis with significant regional and country variation exists. In this study, 14.2% of patients received LDC despite the absence of evidence of shock. Hospital mortality was higher in the LDC group and remained higher after adjustment for key determinates of mortality.

Indexed as

RegistriesAdrenal Cortex HormonesAdultAgedDose-Response Relationship, DrugHumansIntensive Care UnitsMiddle AgedPractice Patterns, Physicians'Propensity ScoreProspective StudiesShock, SepticTreatment OutcomeVasoconstrictor AgentsAdrenal Cortex HormonesVasoconstrictor Agents

Identifiers

PMID20525247
PMCPMC2911744
OpenAlexW2142476814

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.