ArticleWorld journal of clinical cases2020
Effect of methylprednisolone in severe and critical COVID-19: Analysis of 102 cases.
Article in World journal of clinical cases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The pandemic is gone but its consequences are here to stay: avascular necrosis following corticosteroids administration for severe COVID-19.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of immunomodulators in the treatment of severe COVID-19.The Journal of international medical research · 2025Article
- Corticosteroids for hospitalized patients with severe/critical COVID-19: a retrospective study in Chongqing, China.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid regimens for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a meta-analysis.Future virology · 2022Review
- Efficacy and Safety of Corticosteroid Use in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2021Article
- Science's Response to CoVID-19.ChemMedChem · 2021Review
- COVID-19: Considerations about immune suppression and biologicals at the time of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.World journal of clinical cases · 2021Article
- A comprehensive review of imaging findings in COVID-19 - status in early 2021.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2021Review
- Glucocorticoids are double-edged sword in the treatment of COVID-19 and cancers.International journal of biological sciences · 2021Review
- Beware of Steroid-Induced Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head in the Treatment of COVID-19-Experience and Lessons from the SARS Epidemic.Drug design, development and therapy · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has brought great challenges to public health. Aggravation of COVID-19 is closely related to the secondary systemic inflammatory response. Glucocorticoids are used to control severe diseases caused by the cytokine storm, owing to their anti-inflammatory effects. However, glucocorticoids are a double-edged sword, as the use of large doses has the potential risk of secondary infection and long-term serious complications, and may prolong virus clearance time. Nonetheless, the risks and benefits of glucocorticoid adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 are inconclusive.
aimTo determine the effect of methylprednisolone in severe and critically ill patients with COVID-19.
methodsThis single-center retrospective study included 102 adult COVID-19 patients admitted to a ward of a designated hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province from January to March 2020. All patients received general symptomatic treatment and organ function support, and were given different respiratory support measures according to their conditions. In case of deterioration, considering the hyperinflammatory state of the patients, methylprednisolone was intravenously administered at 0.75-1.5 mg/kg/d, usually for less than 14 d. Patient vital signs and oxygenation were closely monitored, in combination with imaging and routine blood tests such as C-reactive protein, biochemical indicators (liver and kidney function, myocardial enzymes, electrolytes,
resultsA total of 102 severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients were included in this study. They were divided into treatment (69, 67.6%) and control groups (33, 32.4%) according to methylprednisolone use. Comparison of baseline data between the two groups showed that the treatment group patients had higher aspartic acid aminotransferase, globulin, hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, and lactate dehydrogenase. There was no significant difference in other baseline data between the two groups. With regard to prognosis, 29 (78.4%) patients in the treatment group died as opposed to 40 (61.5%) in the control group. The mortality was higher in the treatment group than in the control group; however, according to the log-rank test and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve, the difference in mortality between both groups was insignificant (
conclusionMethylprednisolone treatment does not improve prognosis in severe and critical COVID-19 patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.