Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34768369›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2021

Effect of Different Corticosteroid Regimens on the Outcome of Severe COVID-19-Related Acute Respiratory Failure. A Retrospective Analysis.

Michele Umbrello, Paolo Formenti, Stefano Nespoli, Eleonora Pisano, Cecilia Bonino, Stefano Muttini

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Safety and efficacy of methylprednisoloneTherapeutic advances in infectious disease
    Article
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Michele UmbrelloSC Anestesia e Rianimazione II, Ospedale San Carlo Borromeo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, 20153 Milan, Italy.
Paolo FormentiSC Anestesia e Rianimazione, Ospedale San Paolo-Polo Universitario, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, 20153 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-8081-7480
Stefano NespoliSC Anestesia e Rianimazione II, Ospedale San Carlo Borromeo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, 20153 Milan, Italy.
Eleonora PisanoScuola di Specializzazione in Medicina D'emergenza-Urgenza, Università degli Studi di Milan, 20153 Milan, Italy.
Cecilia BoninoScuola di Specializzazione in Medicina D'emergenza-Urgenza, Università degli Studi di Milan, 20153 Milan, Italy.
Stefano MuttiniSC Anestesia e Rianimazione II, Ospedale San Carlo Borromeo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, 20153 Milan, Italy.
Ospedale San Carlo · ITUniversity of Milan · ITOspedale San Paolo · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSystemic corticosteroids are associated with reduced mortality in COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure; however, the type and dose has not yet been established.

objectivesTo compare the outcomes of dexamethasone vs. methylprednisolone, along with the effects of rescue, short-term, high-dose boluses of corticosteroids.

methodsBefore/after and case/control retrospective analysis of consecutive critically ill COVID-19 subjects. Subjects were initially given dexamethasone; however, after review of the local protocol, methylprednisolone was suggested. A three-day course of 1000 mg/day of methylprednisolone was administered in the case of refractory hypoxemia within the first 10 days of treatment. Propensity score-adjusted comparisons were performed.

resultsA total of 81 consecutive subjects were included (85% males, 60 ± 10 years, SAPS II 27 ± 7, SOFA 4 [IQR 3, 6] points) and 51 of these subjects (62.9%) received dexamethasone and 29 (35.8%) had methylprednisolone. The groups were well matched for age, comorbidities, and severity at admission. No differences were found in the duration of ICU stay, hospital mortality, or infectious complications between the groups. A total of 22 subjects (27.2%) received a rescue bolus; these subjects had a significantly lower oxygenation, a higher driving pressure, and an increased ventilatory ratio during the first ten days. Short-term/high-dose boluses were associated with higher hospital mortality, longer mechanical ventilation and ICU and hospital stay, and more infectious complications. A subgroup of subjects who received the boluses had significantly improved oxygenation and lower hospital mortality.

conclusionsWe were unable to find any difference between dexamethasone or methylprednisolone on the explored outcomes; high-dose boluses of corticosteroids were associated with a worse outcome. However, a subgroup of subjects was identified in whom the high-dose boluses seemed beneficial.

Indexed as

acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)corticosteroidsCOVID-19critically ill patients

Identifiers

PMID34768369
PMCPMC8584858
OpenAlexW3206789438

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.