Impact of short-term low-medium dose of corticosteroids on the clinical outcomes of patients with community-acquired pneumonia due to influenza A / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the impact of short-term low-medium dose of corticosteroids on the clinical outcomes of patients with community-acquired pneumonia due to influenza A (FluA-CAP).Methods:This was a multicenter, retrospective study, including 693 patients hospitalized with FluA-CAP from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Beijing Huimin Hospital, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital and the 2nd People′s Hospital of Yunnan Province during January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018. The clinical characteristics of patients with or without corticosteroids administration were compared. The first dose of corticosteroids was administrated within 72 hours after admission, with the average dose of methylprednisolone (0.6±0.3) mg/(kg·d) and duration of (4.0±1.2) days. An adjusted logistic regression model was performed to assess the impact of corticosteroids treatment on the clinical outcomes (noninvasive ventilation, invasive ventilation, vasopressor use, admittance to intensive care unit (ICU), 30-day mortality, hyperglycemia needing insulin treatment and gastrointestinal bleeding). Mann-Whitney test and χ2 test were used for the statistical analysis. Results:Among the 693 patients, 132 patients received corticosteroids. Logistic regression analysis revealed that asthma (odd ratios ( OR)=15.528, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.953-123.484, P=0.01), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( OR=21.904, 95% CI 4.548-105.504, P<0.01) and arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO 2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO 2)<300 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa, OR=2.701, 95% CI 1.513-4.822, P<0.01) were independent risk factors for corticosteroids use in the FluA-CAP patients. An adjusted logistic regression model showed that low-medium dose corticosteroids administration was associated with decreased risks for early (defined as zero to three days after the first dose of corticosteroids) noninvasive ventilation ( OR=0.342, 95% CI 0.156-0.750, P<0.01), and increased risk for late (defined as four to 14 days after the first dose of corticosteroids) vasopressor use ( OR=2.651, 95% CI 1.913-6.306, P<0.01), late hyperglycemia which needed insulin treatment ( OR=9.739, 95% CI 2.174-21.769, P=0.019), ICU admission ( OR=3.075, 95% CI 1.166-8.143, P<0.01) and the 30-day mortality ( OR=2.372, 95% CI 1.337-4.549, P<0.01). In patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( OR=2.343, 95% CI 1.145-4.073, P<0.01) and PaO 2/FiO 2<300 mmHg ( OR=1.961, 95% CI 1.029-4.212, P<0.01), corticosteroids administration increased the risk of 30-day mortality. Conclusion:Low-medium corticosteroids treatment is associated with poor outcomes of FluA-CAP patients, and is not recommended to be used routinely.