Role of Steroids in Sickle Cell Patients With Acute Chest Syndrome

Background The role of corticosteroids to treat acute chest syndrome (ACS) in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) has always been a matter of debate. In clinical practice, systemic steroids were given for ACS with more severe disease. With the lack of standard treatment guidelines, their use to treat ACS is highly physician-dependent and varies widely across different hospitals. The utility of corticosteroids in ACS remains unclear. The objective of our study was to describe the differences between SCD patients treated with corticosteroids for ACS and those who were not and to evaluate the association between corticosteroid use, length of stay, and readmission rates. Methodology We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with SCD ≤18 years of age hospitalized for ACS at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center between January 2016 and May 2021. Results We identified 43 patients with 60 episodes of ACS (median age was 11 years and 55% were males). In total, 32 such episodes were treated with corticosteroids. The use of bronchodilators (p = 0.23), hydroxyurea (p = 0.13), and the presence of fever (p = 0.86) showed no significant difference between the two groups. The need for blood transfusions (p = 0.005), intensive care unit admission (p = 0.031), respiratory support (p = 0.011), and chest X-ray finding with more than one lobe involvement (p = 0.003) all point to moderate or severe ACS, which has been linked to steroid use. The length of hospital stay (p = 0.07) and the readmission rate (p = 0.31) were not statistically significant between the groups. Even in the subgroup with asthma, the length of stay was not different between the groups (p = 0.44). Conclusions Our results show that treatment with systemic steroids for ACS is associated with more severe disease. The length of hospital stay was not different between the steroid-treated and untreated groups. Corticosteroids were not associated with a higher readmission rate in our study population, even in ACS patients with comorbid asthma. Further adequately powered prospective trials are needed to investigate the efficacy of corticosteroids in ACS.