COVID-19 and corticosteroids: a narrative review
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Updated: Sep 23, 2025

An Educational Video Demonstration of How to Prone a Critically Ill Intubated Patient
Published on: November 30, 2022
Gaber El-Saber Batiha1, Ali I Al-Gareeb2, Hebatallah M Saad3
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour, 22511, AlBeheira, Egypt. gaberbatiha@gmail.com.
Abstract:
It has been reported that corticosteroid therapy was effective in the management of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and recently in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Corticosteroids are potent anti-inflammatory drugs that mitigate the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia, despite a reduction of viral clearance; corticosteroids inhibit the development of cytokine storm and multi-organ damage. The risk-benefit ratio should be assessed for critical COVID-19 patients. In conclusion, corticosteroid therapy is an effective way in the management of COVID-19, it reduces the risk of complications primarily acute lung injury and the development of ARDS. Besides, corticosteroid therapy mainly dexamethasone and methylprednisolone are effective in reducing the severity of COVID-19 and associated comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
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