Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40866841›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2025

Dexamethasone chronotherapy of COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care unit: an exploratory study.

Mohammad Abusamak, Ali Ait Hssain, Venkateswara Rao Chinta, Haider Al-Waeli, Hadi M Yassine, Faleh Tamimi

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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.

Mohammad AbusamakFaculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0955-0055
Ali Ait HssainMedical Intensive Care Unit, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7764-5793
Venkateswara Rao ChintaDepartment of Business Intelligence, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Haider Al-WaeliFaculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5090-5084
Hadi M YassineBiomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7592-2788
Faleh TamimiFaculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. fmarino@qu.edu.qa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4618-8374

Funding

QNRF Rapid Response Grant RRC02-0810-210032
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDexamethasone has been demonstrated to be a potential treatment approach preventing COVID-19 related fatalities by managing the cytokine release storm (CRS). The expression of the inflammatory mediators involved in the CRS is regulated by the circadian biology of the immune response and it peaks during the evening. Accordingly, it has been hypothesized that the administration of anti-inflammatory medications in the evening could help better manage the CRS. Therefore, we investigated the association between dexamethasone administration time and COVID-19 mortality.

methodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted using electronic health records of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the State of Qatar between March 2020 and April 2021. The exposure group received dexamethasone between 16:00 h and 04:00 h, while the control group received dexamethasone between 04:00 h and 16:00 h.

resultsFrom the 875 COVID-19 patients included in the study, 161 received dexamethasone treatments between 16:00 h and 04:00 h while 714 received it between 04:00 h and 16:00 h. After adjusting for confounding variables, dexamethasone given between 16:00 h and 04:00 h was associated with lower odds of COVID-19 mortality (OR: 0.22, CI 95%: 0.06, 0.84).

conclusionDexamethasone administration tailored to the circadian rhythm was associated with lower odds of mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Indexed as

Anti-Inflammatory AgentsCOVID-19COVID-19 Drug TreatmentDexamethasoneDrug ChronotherapyAdultAgedCircadian RhythmCytokine Release SyndromeFemaleHospitalizationHumansIntensive Care UnitsMaleMiddle AgedQatarAnti-Inflammatory AgentsDexamethasoneChronotherapyCOVID-19DexamethasoneICUInflammationMortality

Identifiers

PMID40866841
PMCPMC12382049

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.