Corticosteroids in non-viral acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): recommendations outpace evidence – a concise review
Abstract
The 2024 global redefinition of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) broadens diagnostic criteria to include patients on non-invasive respiratory support. While this inclusivity enhances early recognition, it also introduces heterogeneity in disease severity, inflammatory burden, and treatment responsiveness–complicating the use of corticosteroids. Although recent guidelines recommend corticosteroids for moderate-to-severe ARDS, they fall short of specifying optimal timing, dosing, and patient selection. The DEXA-ARDS trial showed that high-dose dexamethasone reduced mortality in moderate-to-severe ARDS regardless of etiology, but its generalizability to less severe or non-intubated patients remains unclear. Conversely, in severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hydrocortisone regimens used in CAPE-COD and APROCCHSS trials demonstrated mortality benefits, suggesting a particular therapeutic niche for corticosteroids in non-viral, infection-associated ARDS. A recent network meta-analysis suggests that low-dose methylprednisolone may reduce ARDS mortality, though phenotype-specific efficacy is not well defined. Despite these encouraging signals, key questions persist: Which corticosteroid? At what dose? For which ARDS phenotype? As evidence accumulates unevenly across ARDS subtypes, guideline-endorsed recommendations may inadvertently mask the nuances required for individualized therapy. Until precision approaches are better defined, clinicians must balance empirical…
Read the paper
Related studies
- 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
- GC-MS Analysis and Biomedical Therapy of Oil from n-Hexane Fraction of Scutellaria edelbergii Rech. f.: In Vitro, In Vivo, and In Silico Approach
- Propranolol, chlorpromazine and diclofenac restore susceptibility of extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-Acinetobacter baumannii to fluoroquinolones
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.