Corticosteroid treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Zha, Lei, Li, Shirong, Pan, Lingling, Tefsen, Boris ORCID: 0000-0001-6668-217X, Li, Yeshan, French, Neil ORCID: 0000-0003-4814-8293, Chen, Liyun, Yang, Gang and Villanueva, Elmer V (2020) Corticosteroid treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). MEDICAL JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA, 212 (9). pp. 416-420.

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Abstract

<h4>Objectives</h4>To assess the efficacy of corticosteroid treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).<h4>Design, setting</h4>Observational study in the two COVID-19-designated hospitals in Wuhu, Anhui province, China, 24 January - 24 February 2020.<h4>Participants</h4>Thirty-one patients infected with the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) treated at the two designated hospitals.<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Virus clearance time, length of hospital stay, and duration of symptoms, by treatment type (including or not including corticosteroid therapy).<h4>Results</h4>Eleven of 31 patients with COVID-19 received corticosteroid treatment. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated no association between corticosteroid treatment and virus clearance time (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% CI, 0.58-2.74), hospital length of stay (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.33-1.78), or duration of symptoms (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.40-1.83). Univariate analysis indicated that virus clearance was slower in two patients with chronic hepatitis B infections (mean difference, 10.6 days; 95% CI, 6.2-15.1 days).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Corticosteroids are widely used when treating patients with COVID-19, but we found no association between therapy and outcomes in patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome. An existing HBV infection may delay SARS-CoV-2 clearance, and this association should be further investigated.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Corticosteroids, Pneumonia, viral, Epidemics
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	14 Apr 2020 10:47
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 23:55
DOI:	10.5694/mja2.50577
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3082684