ArticlePharmacoepidemiology and drug safety2021
Association between inhaled corticosteroid use and COVID-19 outcomes.
Article in Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- The influence of prior use of inhaled corticosteroids on COVID-19 outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Quantifying selection bias due to unobserved patients in pharmacoepidemiologic studies of severe COVID-19 cohorts.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Association of Inhaled Corticosteroid Use with COVID-19 Severity and Hospitalization in Patients With and Without Respiratory Disease.Journal of aerosol medicine and pulmonary drug delivery · 2025Article
- Using Quantitative Bias Analysis to Adjust for Misclassification of COVID-19 Outcomes: An Applied Example of Inhaled Corticosteroids and COVID-19 Outcomes.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Article
- Outcomes of COVID-19 amongst patients with ongoing use of inhaled corticosteroids - a systematic review & meta-analysis.Le infezioni in medicina · 2023Review
- Inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of COVID-19.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022Review
- Association between inhaled corticosteroid use and COVID-19 outcomes.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRecent evidence has established a beneficial effect of systemic corticosteroids for treatment of moderate-to-severe COVID-19.
objectiveTo determine if inhaled corticosteroid use is associated with COVID-19 outcomes.
methodsIn a nationwide cohort of hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 test-positive individuals in Denmark, we estimated the 30-day hazard ratio of intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death among users of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) compared with users of bronchodilators (β
resultsAmong 6267 hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients, 614 (9.8%) were admitted to ICU and 677 (10.8%) died within 30 days. ICS use was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.09 (95% CI [CI], 0.67 to 1.79) for ICU admission and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.56 to 1.11) for death compared with bronchodilator use. Compared with no ICS use overall, the hazard ratio of ICU admission or death was 1.17 (95% CI, 0.87-1.59) and 1.02 (95% CI, 0.78-1.32), respectively. Among 10 279 hospitalized influenza patients, of which 951 (9.2%) were admitted to ICU and 1275 (12.4%) died, the hazard ratios were 1.43 (95% CI, 0.89-2.30) and 1.11 (95% CI, 0.85-1.46) for ICU admission, and 0.80 (95% CI, 0.63-1.01) and 1.03 (95% CI, 0.87-1.22) for death compared with bronchodilator use and no ICS use overall, respectively.
conclusionOur results do not support an effect of inhaled corticosteroid use on COVID-19 outcomes, however we can only rule out moderate-to-large reduced or increased risks. STUDY REGISTRATION: The study was pre-registered at encepp.eu (EUPAS35897).
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