ArticleCritical care research and practice2021
Target Groups for a Short Dexamethasone Course among Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients.
Article in Critical care research and practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of the efficacy of equivalent doses of dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, and hydrocortisone for treatment of COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome: a prospective three-arm randomized clinical trial.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2023Trial
- The Critical Role of Steroid Regimen for Lung Repair in Experimental Diffuse Alveolar Damage.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionCorticosteroids are one of the most promising therapeutic agents for critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite emerging data, assessed populations and regimens vary, and there are patient subgroups whose response to steroids remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and treated with a short dexamethasone course to determine which patient categories derive the highest benefit.
methodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted using a prospectively collected single-center ICU database (April 1-October 1, 2020). Adult COVID-19 patients were assigned to dexamethasone (12 mg × 3 days) and usual care groups. Patient, management, and outcome data were extracted. The primary outcome was the 28-day ICU mortality. Subgroup analysis was performed to assess the impact of dexamethasone on mortality in patients with invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).
resultsOf 233 patients, 220 (median age: 65 years, 38% female) were included: 83 patients received dexamethasone and 137 received usual care. Overall, 28 (33.7%) and 54 (39.4%) patients in the dexamethasone and usual care groups, respectively, died within 28 days since ICU admission (rate ratio (RR) 0.86; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.59-1.23;
conclusionsA 3-day dexamethasone course is not associated with lower 28-day mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients, either in the entire ICU cohort or in the IMV. Dexamethasone may significantly reduce the 28-day mortality in IMV patients <65 years, but not in the older IMV subgroup. Dexamethasone administration in patients ≥65 years is associated with a significantly higher rate of adverse events than that in younger patients.
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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.