Early Corticosteroids Decrease Mortality in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19: A Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) have a high fatality rate likely due to a dysregulated immune response. Corticosteroids could attenuate this inappropriate response, although there are still some concerns regarding its use, timing, and dose.

Methods: This is a nationwide, prospective, multicenter, observational, cohort study in critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 admitted into Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Spain from March 12th to June 29th, 2020. Using a multivariable Cox model with inverse probability weighting, we compared relevant outcomes between patients treated with early corticosteroids (before or within the first 48h of ICU admission) with those who did not receive early corticosteroids or any corticosteroids at all. Primary endpoint was ICU mortality. Secondary endpoints included 7-day mortality, ventilator-free days, and complications.

Results: A total of 691 patients out of 882 (78.3%) received corticosteroid during their hospital stay. Patients treated with early-corticosteroids (n=485) had a lower ICU mortality (30.3% vs 40.6%, HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57-0.89) and higher number of ventilator-free days (mean difference 2.5 days, 95% CI 1.3-3.8) compared to non-early treated patients. There were no differences in 7-day mortality (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.48-1.2), medical complications (OR 2.18, 95% CI 0.91-5.25) or secondary infections (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.67-1.15) between both groups. Of note, early use of moderate-to-high doses was associated with better outcomes than low dose regimens.

Conclusion: Early use of corticosteroids in critically ill patients with COVID-19 is associated with lower mortality (10.3% absolute risk reduction) and shorter duration of mechanical ventilation.