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Corticosteroid Use in the Treatment of COVID-19: A Multicenter Retrospective Study in Hunan, China
Yiming Ma1, Huihui Zeng1, Zijie Zhan1
1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Insights
Corticosteroid treatment for COVID-19 patients was associated with increased antibiotic use and longer hospital stays, particularly in non-severe cases. This highlights potential risks alongside benefits in managing the pandemic illness.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Clinical Medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- The global COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid evaluation of treatment strategies.
- Corticosteroids emerged as a potential therapeutic option for managing COVID-19 symptoms and inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To retrospectively analyze the utilization patterns and clinical outcomes of corticosteroid therapy in a cohort of COVID-19 patients.
- To compare characteristics and disease progression between COVID-19 patients who received corticosteroids and those who did not.
Main Methods:
- Multicenter retrospective study involving 450 symptomatic COVID-19 patients.
- Patients categorized into severe and non-severe groups for comparative analysis.
- Detailed review of baseline characteristics, clinical signs, laboratory findings, treatments, and outcomes, with specific focus on corticosteroid use.
Main Results:
- Corticosteroids were administered to 28% of the studied COVID-19 patients (126/450).
- In non-severe COVID-19 cases, corticosteroid use was linked to older patient demographics, increased antibiotic co-prescription, longer hospitalization, and prolonged viral shedding.
- In severe COVID-19 cases, corticosteroid recipients were older with more comorbidities; however, hospitalization length and viral shedding duration did not significantly differ compared to non-recipients.
Conclusions:
- Corticosteroids are a common treatment for COVID-19 in clinical practice.
- The findings suggest that corticosteroid administration in COVID-19 may correlate with increased antibiotic use, extended hospitalization, and prolonged viral shedding, warranting careful consideration of risk-benefit profiles.
Background:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has developed into a worldwide pandemic. This study aimed to retrospectively describe the use of corticosteroids in treating COVID-19.
Methods:
For this multicenter retrospective study, medical records from 488 symptomatic COVID-19 patients were reviewed. Patients were divided into severe and nonsevere groups. Baseline characteristics, signs and symptoms, laboratory findings, treatments, and disease outcomes were compared. Specific data for corticosteroid treatment were further analyzed.
Results:
Four hundred fifty COVID-19 patients were included in this study, including 82 severe patients and 368 nonsevere cases. Out of the 450 patients, 126 (28.0%) received corticosteroid treatment. In the 126 patients treated with corticosteroids, the median daily dose of corticosteroid therapy was 56.6 [interquartile range (IQR): 40.0-78.4] mg and median corticosteroid therapy duration was 5.0 (IQR: 3.0-7.0) days. Among nonsevere cases, patients treated with corticosteroids were significantly older in comparison with patients who did not receive corticosteroid treatment (p<0.01); the proportion of patients receiving antibiotic therapy in the corticosteroid group was significantly higher than that in the noncorticosteroid group (p<0.001); hospitalization length and duration of viral shedding were significantly longer in patients in the corticosteroid group than in the noncorticosteroid group after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities (p<0.05). In severe cases, patients treated with corticosteroids were significantly older and comorbidities at admission were significantly more common in patients receiving corticosteroid treatment (p<0.05); the proportion of patients receiving antibiotic therapy in the corticosteroid group was significantly higher than that in the noncorticosteroid group (p<0.001); no significant difference in hospitalization length or viral shedding duration was found between two groups after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
Our study indicates that corticosteroids are regarded as one of treatments in the general clinical practice of COVID-19. However, corticosteroid use may be accompanied by increased use of antibiotics, longer hospitalization, and prolonged viral shedding.
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