Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38512832›Full record

ArticlePloS one2024

Comparative effectiveness of dexamethasone in treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the United States during the first year of the pandemic: Findings from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) data repository.

Richard Zhou, Kaitlyn E Johnson, Justin F Rousseau, Paul J Rathouz, N3C Consortium

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 95% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Richard ZhouDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2468-0154
Kaitlyn E JohnsonDepartment of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
Justin F RousseauDell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2817-9124
Paul J RathouzDell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8380-4300
N3C Consortium
The University of Texas at Austin · USRockefeller Foundation · US

Funding

CD2H - The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) IDeA CTR CollaborationU24TR002306 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI CHUTE, CHRISTOPHER G, EICHMANN, DAVID A. · 2017 to 2021
$28.9M
Accelerating viral outbreak detection in US cities using mechanistic models, machine learning and diverse geospatial dataR01AI151176 · NIAID · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI GALVANI, ALISON P, MEYERS, LAUREN ANCEL · 2020 to 2024
$3.9M
RFA-IP-22-004, Modeling toolkit to evaluate multifaceted control strategies for seasonal and pandemic influenzaU01IP001136 · IP · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI MEYERS, LAUREN ANCEL · 2020 to 2024
$3.4M
ACL HHS U01IP001136NCATS NIH HHS U24 TR002306NCIRD CDC HHS U01 IP001136NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI151176
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDexamethasone was approved for use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic based on the RECOVERY trial, but evidence is still needed to support its real-world effectiveness in heterogeneous populations of patients with a wide range of comorbidities.

methodsCOVID-19 inpatients represented within the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Data Enclave, prior to vaccine availability, were studied. Primary outcome was in-hospital death; secondary outcome was combined in-hospital death and severe outcome defined by use of ECMO or mechanical ventilation. Missing data were imputed with single imputation. Dexamethasone-treated patients were propensity score (PS) matched to non-dexamethasone-treated controls, stratified by remdesivir treatment and based on demographics, baseline laboratory values, comorbidities, and amount of missing data before imputation. Treatment benefit was quantified using logistic regression. Further sensitivity analyses were performed using clinical adjusters in matched groups and in strata defined by quartiles of PS.

resultsDexamethasone treatment was associated with reduced risk of in-hospital mortality for n = 1,263 treated, matched 1:3 to untreated, patients not receiving remdesivir (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.62 to 0.95, p = 0.017), and for n = 804 treated, matched 1:1 to untreated, patients receiving remdesivir (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.53 to 1.02, p = 0.054). Treatment showed secondary outcome benefit. In sensitivity analyses, treatment effect generally remained similar with some heterogeneity of benefit across quartiles of PS, possibly reflecting concentration of benefit among the more severely affected.

conclusionsWe add evidence that dexamethasone provides benefit with respect to mortality and severe outcomes in a diverse, national hospitalized sample, prior to vaccine availability.

Indexed as

COVID-19VaccinesCOVID-19 Drug TreatmentDexamethasoneHospital MortalityHumansInpatientsPandemicsUnited StatesDexamethasoneVaccines

Identifiers

PMID38512832
PMCPMC10956822
OpenAlexW4393030500

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.