Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33013412›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in pharmacology2020

Efficacy and Safety of Corticosteroid Treatment in Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Wenwen Cheng, Yufeng Li, Liyan Cui, Ying Chen, Sharui Shan, Duan Xiao, Xiaoyun Chen, Zhuoming Chen, Anding Xu

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  8. COVID-19: Some unresolved issues.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2022
    Review
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  19. Corticosteroids for COVID-19.Journal of intensive medicine · 2021
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Wenwen ChengDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Yufeng LiDepartment of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Liyan CuiDepartment of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Ying ChenDepartment of Ideological and Political Theory Teaching, Maoming Polytechnic, Maoming, China.
Sharui ShanDepartment of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
Duan XiaoDepartment of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaoyun ChenDepartment of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhuoming ChenDepartment of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Anding XuDepartment of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCOVID-19 is a type of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection that was identified in December 2019. Corticosteroid therapy was empirically used for clinical treatment in the early stage of the disease outbreak; however, data regarding its efficacy and safety are controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid therapy in patients with COVID-19.

methodsThe PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and China Science and Technology Journal (VIP) databases were searched for studies. Data on clinical improvement, mortality, virus clearance time, adverse events (AEs), utilization of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization, and hospital stay were extracted by two authors independently. Study quality was assessed by the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (cohort studies). The pooled data were meta-analyzed using a random effects model, and the quality of evidence was rated using the GRADE approach.

resultsEleven cohort studies (corticosteroid group vs control group), two retrospective cohort studies (without control group), and seven case studies were identified. A total of 2840 patients were included. Compared with the control treatments, corticosteroid therapy was associated with clinical recovery (RR = 1.30, 95% CI [0.98, 1.72]) and a significantly shortened length of ICU hospitalization (RR = -6.50; 95% CI [-7.63 to -5.37]), but it did not affect the mortality ((RR = 1.59; 95% CI [0.69-3.66],

conclusionThe findings of our study indicate that corticosteroid therapy is not highly effective, but it appears to improve prognosis and promote clinical recovery in patients with severe COVID-19.

Indexed as

corticosteroidCOVID-19efficacymeta-analysisSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33013412
PMCPMC7510504

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.