Study of the effectiveness of methylprednisolone at different stages of inpatient care for patients with pneumonia caused by a new COVID-19 coronavirus infection

Abstract

One of the main areas of treatment for pneumonia caused by the new COVID-19 coronavirus infection is the use of drugs aimed at fighting the cytokine storm, including corticosteroids. The purpose of this study was to study the effectiveness of the use of methylprednisolone at different stages of inpatient care – in the intensive care unit (ICU) and in therapeutic departments. Therapy with methylprednisolone was performed for 54 patients, which accounted for 9% of the total number of hospitalized patients in the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Federal center of brain research and neurotechnologies» of the Federal Medical Biological Agency. In the ICU, therapy was performed for 28 patients, in therapeutic departments for 26 patients, the control group consisted of 14 patients. Methylprednisolone was perfused in a daily dose of 250 mg continuously intravenously for three days, the total dose was 750 mg. The results of the study showed a significant decrease in the mortality rate in the group that was treated with methylprednisolone in therapeutic departments (7.7%) compared to the group that was treated in the ICU (67.9%) and the control group (42.9%, p<0.001). Also, the group with therapy at therapeutic departments was characterized by a lower frequency of mechanical ventilation (in 2 (7,7%), 20 (71,4%) and 7 (50%) cases, respectively, p<0.001). Thus, the introduction of methylprednisolone in the therapeutic department as a anti-inflammatory therapy contributes to a reduction in hospital mortality rates and the frequency of mechanical ventilation use for patients with pneumonia caused by a new COVID-19 coronavirus infection.