Dexamethasone vs methylprednisolone high dose for Covid-19 pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: There is no effective therapy for the severe acute respiratory syndrome by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) responsible for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). To date, dexamethasone has shown a decrease in mortality in patients who require oxygen, especially those with invasive mechanical ventilation. However, it is unknown if another corticosteroid can be used, the optimal dose and its duration, to achieve a better clinical outcome. The objective of the study was to compare the differences in clinical outcome and laboratory results in hospitalized patients with severe SARS-CoV2 Pneumonia treated with dexamethasone at 6 mg doses versus patients treated with high-dose methylprednisolone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ambispective cohort study with survival analysis of 216 patients diagnosed with severe Covid-19 pneumonia confirmed by polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV2 by Berlin protocol, who were hospitalized in a high-complexity clinic in Medellín, Colombia. The patients should also have supplementary oxygen and radiological confirmation of Pneumonia by chest tomography. Sample size was not calculated since the total population that met the inclusion criteria was evaluated. 111 patients were treated with the institutional protocol with intravenous dexamethasone 6 mg QD for seven to 10 days if they required oxygen. Since September 15, 2020, the hospitalization protocol of the clinic was modified by the Infectious Diseases and Pulmonology service, recommending a high dose of methylprednisolone of 250 to 500 mg every day for three days with a subsequent change to oral prednisone 50 mg every day for 14 days. The protocol was not applied in the intensive care unit, where dexamethasone continued to be administered. The clinical outcome and differences in laboratory results of the patients who received dexamethasone vs. the prospective cohort that received methylprednisolone from September 15 to October 31, 2020, were evaluated. Follow-up was carried out by outpatient consultation one month after discharge or by telephone, inquiring about readmission or living-dead status. RESULTS: 216 patients had Covid-19 pneumonia documented by ground-glass imaging and alveolar pressure / inspired oxygen fraction (PaFi) less than 300. 111 patients received dexamethasone (DXM) and 105 received methylprednisolone (MTP). Patients in the DXM group evolved to severe ARDS in a higher proportion (26.1% vs 17.1% than the MTP group). Upon completion 4 days of treatment with parenteral corticosteroid, laboratory markers of severity decreased significantly in the group that received MTP, CRP 2.85 (2.3-3.8) vs 7.2 (5.4-9.8), (p-value < 0.0001), D-dimer 691 (612-847) vs 1083 (740-1565) (p-value = 0.04) and DHL 273 (244-289) vs 355 (270.6-422) (p-value = 0.01). After starting the corticosteroid, transfer to the intensive care unit (4.8% vs. 14.4%) and mortality (9,5% vs. 17.1%) was lower in the group that received MTP. Recovery time was shorter in patients treated with MTP, three days (3-4) vs. DXM 6 days (5-8) (p-value < 0.0001). At 30-day follow-up, 88 (92.6%) were alive in MTP vs 58 (63.1%) of those who received dexamethasone. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the treatment of severe Covid-19 Pneumonia with high-dose methylprednisolone for three days followed by oral prednisone for 14 days, compared with 6 mg dexamethasone for 7 to 10 days, statistically significantly decreased the recovery time, the need for transfer to intensive care and the severity markers C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer and LDH. Randomized controlled studies with methylprednisolone are required to corroborate its effect, and studies in a population hospitalized in intensive care wards.

The use of methylprednisolone in COVID-19 patients: A propensity score matched retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone in treating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, and all COVID-19 patients were recruited who were admitted to the Yichang Third People's Hospital from February 1st to March 31st, 2020. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was used for minimizing confounding effects. The primary outcome was hospital mortality, with the secondary outcomes being the time needed for a positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test to turn negative and the length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Totaling 367 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized at the Yichang Third People's Hospital were identified, of whom 276 were mild or stable COVID-19, and 67 were serious or critically ill. Among them, 255 patients were treated using methylprednisolone, and 188 did not receive any corticosteroid-related treatment. After PSM, no statistically significant difference was found in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. Regarding the outcomes, there also were no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Patients without the use of methylprednisolone were more quickly to obtain negative results of their nasopharyngeal swab tests of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid after treatment, compared to those receiving methylprednisolone. CONCLUSION: Methylprednisolone could not improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19, and the efficacy and safety of the use of methylprednisolone in patients with COVID-19 still remain uncertain, thus the use of corticosteroids clinically in patients with COVID-19 should be with cautions.

Comparison of efficacy of dexamethasone and methylprednisolone in moderate to severe covid 19 disease.

BACKGROUND: The first case of Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were diagnosed in Wuhan, China in 2019. In the first half of 2020 this disease has already converted into a global pandemic. Various treatment options were being tried all over the world. Some studies showed beneficial effects of corticosteroids in covid 19. Hence, we designed this study to compare the effect of two steroids in moderate to severe covid 19 disease. OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy and safety of dexamethasone and methylprednisolone in moderate to severe covid 19 disease. STUDY SETTINGS: Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore and Ganga Ram hospital, Lahore. STUDY DESIGN: Quasi experimental, interventional study. DURATION OF STUDY: From 1st June 2020 to 30th June 2020. METHODOLOGY: Sample size and technique: there were total 100 patients; 35 patients received dexamethasone and 65 were kept in methylprednisolone receiving group. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 57.91 years in dexamethasone group and 54.86 years in methylprednisolone group. In dexamethasone group, there were 15 (42.8%) critically ill patients who were shifted to Intensive care unit (ICU) and seven (20%) of them needed ventilatory support, whereas in methylprednisolone group 22 (33.8%) had to be admitted in ICU with eight (12.3%) patient needing ventilator. As outcome measure, patients in both the groups showed marked improvement in temperature, oxygen requirement and C-reactive protein (CRP) on day 5. Only six (17.1%) patient died who received dexamethasone while 10 (15.3%) patients died among those receiving methylprednisolone. CONCLUSION: Dexamethasone and methylprednisolone both are equally effective in treating moderate to severe covid 19 disease.

Comparison of Efficacy of Dexamethasone and Methylprednisolone in Improving PaO2/FiO2 Ratio Among COVID-19 Patients.

Introduction Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the reason for the global pandemic that started from Wuhan, China, in December 2019, known as coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19). Acute respiratory distress syndrome happened in COVID-19 not just because of uncontrolled viral replication but also because of an uncontrolled immune reaction from the host. That's why antiviral and anti-inflammatory treatments have become an increasing concern for clinicians. Methods A retrospective quasi-experimental study design was used to assess the effectiveness of methylprednisolone and dexamethasone in the improvement of PaO2/FiO2 (P/F) ratio in COVID-19 patients. We included 60 participants for this study by using a convenient sampling technique and divided them into two groups with 30 patients in each group. Group 1 was given dexamethasone 8 mg twice daily, and group 1 given methylprednisolone 40 mg twice daily for eight days. We recorded C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin level, and P/F ratio before administration of both drugs and after administration of drugs for eight days. We used the paired t-test to assess the effect of both drugs on the P/F ratio of participants. Results The initial mean CRP in group 1 was 110.34, which reduced to 19.45 after administration of dexamethasone; similarly, the CRP in group 2 was 108.65, which reduced to 43.82 after administering methylprednisolone for eight days. In P/F ratio improvement, the calculated significance value for dexamethasone (p=0.000) was less than the table value at 0.05 in all sections, p-value for methylprednisolone (p=0.009) was also less than the table value at 0.05, which shows that both dexamethasone and methylprednisolone were effective in improving P/F ratio. Calculated p-value for dexamethasone (p=0.000) was lower than the calculated p-value for methylprednisolone (p=0.009), which shows that dexamethasone is more effective as compare to methylprednisolone. Conclusions Steroid therapy is effective in controlling inflammation markers, and especially dexamethasone is significantly effective in improving the P/F ratio in COVID-19 patients.