Background Since its appearance in late 2019, infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have created unprecedented challenges for health systems worldwide. Multiple therapeutic options have been explored including corticosteroids (CS); preliminary results of CS in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are encouraging, however, the role of CS is still controversial. Research Question What is the impact of CS in mortality, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and viral shedding in COVID-19 cases? Study Design and Methods We conducted a systematic review of literature on CS and COVID-19 in major databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE) of published literature until July 22, 2020, that report outcomes of interest in COVID-19 patients receiving CS with a comparative group. Results A total of 73 studies with 21,350 COVID-19 cases were identified. CS use was widely reported in mechanically ventilated (35.3%), ICU (51.3%) and severe COVID-19 cases (40%). CS showed mortality benefit in severelly ill COVID-19 cases (OR 0.65, 95%CI 0.51-0.83, P=0.0006), however, no beneficial or harmful effects were noted amongst high- or low-dose CS regimens. Emerging evidence shows that low-dose CS do not have a significant impact in the duration of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding. The analysis was limited by highly heterogeneous literature for high- and low-dose CS regimens. Interpretation Our results show evidence of mortality benefit in severely-ill COVID-19 treated with CS. CS are widely used in COVID-19 cases worldwide and a rapidly developing global pandemic warrants further high-quality clinical trials to define the most beneficial timing and dosing for CS.
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00621790.
BackgroundWe performed a systematic review of randomized controlled studies evaluating any drug, technique or device aimed at improving the success rate or safety of tracheal intubation in the critically ill.MethodsWe searched PubMed, BioMed Central, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials and references of retrieved articles. Finally, pertinent reviews were also scanned to detect further studies until May 2017. The following inclusion criteria were considered: tracheal intubation in adult critically ill patients; randomized controlled trial; study performed in Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department or ordinary ward; and work published in the last 20 years. Exclusion criteria were pre-hospital or operating theatre settings and simulation-based studies. Two investigators selected studies for the final analysis. Extracted data included first author, publication year, characteristics of patients and clinical settings, intervention details, comparators and relevant outcomes. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias tool.ResultsWe identified 22 trials on use of a pre-procedure check-list (1 study), pre-oxygenation or apneic oxygenation (6 studies), sedatives (3 studies), neuromuscular blocking agents (1 study), patient positioning (1 study), video laryngoscopy (9 studies), and post-intubation lung recruitment (1 study). Pre-oxygenation with non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and/or high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) showed a possible beneficial role. Post-intubation recruitment improved oxygenation, while ramped position increased the number of intubation attempts and thiopental had negative hemodynamic effects. No effect was found for use of a checklist, apneic oxygenation (on oxygenation and hemodynamics), videolaryngoscopy (on number and length of intubation attempts), sedatives and neuromuscular blockers (on hemodynamics). Finally, videolaryngoscopy was associated with severe adverse effects in multiple trials.ConclusionsThe limited available evidence supports a beneficial role of pre-oxygenation with NIV and HFNC before intubation of critically ill patients. Recruitment maneuvers may increase post-intubation oxygenation. Ramped position increased the number of intubation attempts; thiopental had negative hemodynamic effects and videolaryngoscopy might favor adverse events.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-017-1927-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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