Efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
The overall benefits and potential risks of corticosteroids, frequently administered to critically ill patients remain uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid therapy in critically ill patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia, sepsis or septic shock, or acute respiratory distress syndrome. We hypothesized that corticosteroids reduce short-term mortality in critically ill patients. We performed a search of Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from database inception up to November 30, 2024. The search was limited to randomized controlled trials in human populations published in English. Dichotomous outcomes are reported as relative risk (RRs) and continuous outcomes as mean differences (MDs), both with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The primary outcome was short-term mortality (28-day or nearest reported). Secondary outcomes included ICU/hospital length of stay, mechanical ventilation duration, ventilator-free days at 28 days, oxygenation index, reversed shock in sepsis or septic shock, and adverse events. We evaluated heterogeneity using I2 and explored it using subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Forty-three randomized controlled trials (n = 10853) were included. Corticosteroids reduced short-term mortality in critically ill patients compared to placebo (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.77–0.94). Corticosteroid treatment for critically ill patients reduced intensive care unit…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 10,853 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Severe clinical outcomes of COVID-19 associated with proton pump inhibitors: a nationwide cohort study with propensity score matching
- Penicillins for Treatment of Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Does In Vitro Resistance Really Matter?
- Thiophenes—Naturally Occurring Plant Metabolites: Biological Activities and In Silico Evaluation of Their Potential as Cathepsin D Inhibitors
- Inhalable Mannosylated Rifampicin–Curcumin Co-Loaded Nanomicelles with Enhanced In Vitro Antimicrobial Efficacy for an Optimized Pulmonary Tuberculosis Therapy
- Development and validation of microbial bioassay for quantification of Levofloxacin in pharmaceutical preparations
- Association between cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and respiratory tract infections in the first 6 months of age in a Korean population: a birth cohort study (COCOA)
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.