SynthesisCritical care (London, England)2018
Corticosteroid use and intensive care unit-acquired weakness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Critical care (London, England), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.
- Corticosteroids for treating sepsis in children and adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Corticosteroid use in ARDS and its application to evolving therapeutics for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review.Pharmacotherapy · 2022Pooled it
- American College of Rheumatology Clinical Guidance for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Associated With SARS-CoV-2 and Hyperinflammation in Pediatric COVID-19: Version 2.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2021Guideline
- Risk prediction models for intensive care unit-acquired weakness in intensive care unit patients: A systematic review.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- American College of Rheumatology Clinical Guidance for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Associated With SARS-CoV-2 and Hyperinflammation in Pediatric COVID-19: Version 1.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2020Guideline
- ICU-acquired weakness.Intensive care medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Corticosteroids for treating sepsis in children and adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Altered muscle transcriptome as molecular basis of long-term muscle weakness in survivors from critical illness.Intensive care medicine · 2025Trial
- Glucocorticoid treatment increases cholesterol availability during critical illness: effect on adrenal and muscle function.Critical care (London, England) · 2024Trial
- Electrophysiology of Neuromuscular Disorders in Critical Illness.Muscle & nerve · 2026Review
- Intensive Care Unit Acquired Weakness as a Modifiable Organ Dysfunction? A Narrative Review of Evolving Diagnostic and Therapeutic Concepts.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Muscle Dysfunction and Physical Recovery After Critical Illness.Journal of intensive care medicine · 2026Review
- Timing and predictors of tracheostomy decannulation in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 ARDS: A real-world study.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2026Article
- Assessment of muscle wasting in intensive care unit patients with and without COVID-19 using ultrasound imaging and bioimpedance analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Article
- Association Between Abnormal DNA Methylation and Altered Transcriptome in Muscle Five Years After Critical Illness.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Article
- Functional and muscle recovery after critical illness: current and future nutritional, physical and metabolic strategies.Annals of intensive care · 2026Review
- Neuromuscular blockade and their monitoring in the intensive care unit: a multicenter observational prospective study.Annals of intensive care · 2025Article
- Beyond mortality: a call for long-term outcomes in corticosteroid trials for CAP.Intensive care medicine · 2025Article
- The role of adipose tissue in critical illness-induced skeletal muscle wasting-new considerations for treatment approaches.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe association between corticosteroid use and intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness remains unclear. We evaluated the relationship between corticosteroid use and ICU-acquired weakness in critically ill adult patients.
methodsThe PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases were searched from database inception until October 10, 2017. Two authors independently screened the titles/abstracts and reviewed full-text articles. Randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies evaluating the association between corticosteroids and ICU-acquired weakness in adult ICU patients were selected. Data extraction from the included studies was accomplished by two independent reviewers. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata version 12.0. The results were analyzed using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Data were pooled using a random effects model, and heterogeneity was evaluated using the χ
resultsOne randomized controlled trial and 17 prospective cohort studies were included in this review. After a meta-analysis, the effect sizes of the included studies indicated a statistically significant association between corticosteroid use and ICU-acquired weakness (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.26-2.67; I
conclusionsThe review suggested a significant association between corticosteroid use and ICU-acquired weakness. Thus, exposure to corticosteroids should be limited, or the administration time should be shortened in clinical practice to reduce the risk of ICU-acquired weakness.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.