Comparing hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone in patients with septic shock

Intravenous hydrocortisone of 200-300 mg/day for 7 days is suggested for patients with septic shock who require vasopressors to maintain mean artery pressure >or=65 mmHg, despite adequate fluid resuscitation. No study to date has compared the effects between physiologic doses of hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone in patients with septic shock.

From July 2007 to June 2008, patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan, with low-dose steroid therapy due to septic shock were enrolled in this study. The typical steroid therapy included 7 days of intravenous hydrocortisone 50 mg every 6 hours. Methylprednisolone (20 mg every 12 hours) was replaced in these patients from January 2008 because no hydrocortisone could be prescribed.

A total of 21 patients were prescribed hydrocortisone and 19 patients were prescribed methylprednisolone. The survival rates for patients receiving hydrocortisone were relatively higher compared with those receiving methylprednisolone, but the difference was not significant. There were no significant differences in the Kaplan-Meier curves for the time to reverse shock between patients who received hydrocortisone, or methylprednisolone. Further regression analysis showed no significant independent factors associated with the survival rates and the time to reverse shock among age, sex, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, histories, and adverse events.

Low-dose methylprednisolone and hydrocortisone might have a similar effect for the treatment of patients with septic shock.