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09.01.2023 | original article

Comparison of the efficacy of equivalent doses of dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, and hydrocortisone for treatment of COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome: a prospective three-arm randomized clinical trial

verfasst von: Abbas Taher, Marjan Lashkari, Fariba Keramat, Seyyed Hamid Hashemi, Ladan Sedighi, Jalal Poorolajal, Associate Professor Maryam Mehrpooya

Erschienen in: Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift | Ausgabe 5-6/2023

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Summary

Background

This prospective controlled clinical trial aimed to compare the efficacy of methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, and hydrocortisone at equivalent doses in patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods

In total, 106 patients with mild to moderate COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were randomized to receive either dexamethasone (6 mg once a day), methylprednisolone (16 mg twice a day), or hydrocortisone (50 mg thrice a day) for up to 10 days. All participants received a standard of care for COVID-19. The primary and secondary efficacy outcomes included all-cause 28-day mortality, clinical status on day 28 assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) eight-category ordinal clinical scale, number of patients requiring mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit (ICU) care, number of ventilator-free days, length of hospital and ICU stay, change in PaO2:FiO2 ratios during the first 5 days after treatment, and incidence of serious adverse events. P-values below 0.008 based on Bonferroni’s multiple-testing correction method were considered statistically significant.

Results

According to the obtained results, there was a trend toward more favorable clinical outcomes in terms of needing mechanical ventilation and ICU care, number of ventilator-free days, change in PaO2:FiO2 ratios during the first 5 days after treatment, clinical status score at day 28, length of ICU and hospital stay, and overall 28-day mortality in patients receiving dexamethasone compared to those receiving methylprednisolone or hydrocortisone; however, likely due to the study’s small sample size, the difference between groups reached a significant level only in the case of clinical status score on day 28 (p-value = 0.003). There was no significant difference in the incidence of serious adverse events between the study groups.

Conclusion

Based on the results, severe cases of COVID-19 treated with dexamethasone might have a better clinical status at 28-day follow-up compared to methylprednisolone and hydrocortisone at an equivalent dose. Larger multicenter trials are required to confirm our findings.
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Metadaten
Titel
Comparison of the efficacy of equivalent doses of dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, and hydrocortisone for treatment of COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome: a prospective three-arm randomized clinical trial
verfasst von
Abbas Taher
Marjan Lashkari
Fariba Keramat
Seyyed Hamid Hashemi
Ladan Sedighi
Jalal Poorolajal
Associate Professor Maryam Mehrpooya
Publikationsdatum
09.01.2023
Verlag
Springer Vienna
Erschienen in
Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift / Ausgabe 5-6/2023
Print ISSN: 0043-5341
Elektronische ISSN: 1563-258X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-022-00993-4

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