tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Expert Rev Respir Med
. 2021 May 4.
doi: 10.1080/17476348.2021.1925546. Online ahead of print.
Does methylprednisolone reduce the mortality risk in hospitalized COVID-19 patients? A meta-analysis of randomized control trials
Syed Shahzad Hasan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chia Siang Kow[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zia Ul Mustafa[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Hamid A Merchant[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objectives: The questions remained if mortality benefits with dexamethasone seen in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also extend to other systemic corticosteroids such as methylprednisolone. This article presents a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to ascertain if methylprednisolone can be recommended for use in patients with COVID-19 to prevent deaths.
Methods: Systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and preprint servers until 13[SUP]th[/SUP] April 2021. The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality. The random-effects model for the meta-analysis was utilized to estimate the pooled odds ratio (OR) at 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results: Five RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled OR for all-cause mortality was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.29 -1.43, n=652) comparing methylprednisolone with the control, indicating no mortality benefits. A similar finding was noted with a sub-group analysis including four trials that used low-dose methylprednisolone. However, the only trial that administered high doses of methylprednisolone indicated a statistically significant mortality benefit (OR 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02-0.42).
Conclusions: A short duration (3 to 5 days) pulse therapy of high-dose methylprednisolone can be a promising alternative to the low-dose dexamethasone therapy in severely ill patients with COVID-19 to prevent deaths.
Keywords: Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; corticosteroids; deaths; dexamethasone; methylprednisolone; pandemic.
. 2021 May 4.
doi: 10.1080/17476348.2021.1925546. Online ahead of print.
Does methylprednisolone reduce the mortality risk in hospitalized COVID-19 patients? A meta-analysis of randomized control trials
Syed Shahzad Hasan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chia Siang Kow[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zia Ul Mustafa[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Hamid A Merchant[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33945381
- DOI: 10.1080/17476348.2021.1925546
Abstract
Objectives: The questions remained if mortality benefits with dexamethasone seen in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also extend to other systemic corticosteroids such as methylprednisolone. This article presents a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to ascertain if methylprednisolone can be recommended for use in patients with COVID-19 to prevent deaths.
Methods: Systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and preprint servers until 13[SUP]th[/SUP] April 2021. The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality. The random-effects model for the meta-analysis was utilized to estimate the pooled odds ratio (OR) at 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results: Five RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled OR for all-cause mortality was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.29 -1.43, n=652) comparing methylprednisolone with the control, indicating no mortality benefits. A similar finding was noted with a sub-group analysis including four trials that used low-dose methylprednisolone. However, the only trial that administered high doses of methylprednisolone indicated a statistically significant mortality benefit (OR 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02-0.42).
Conclusions: A short duration (3 to 5 days) pulse therapy of high-dose methylprednisolone can be a promising alternative to the low-dose dexamethasone therapy in severely ill patients with COVID-19 to prevent deaths.
Keywords: Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; corticosteroids; deaths; dexamethasone; methylprednisolone; pandemic.