Pulmonary function, computerized tomography features and six-minute walk test at three months in severe COVID-19 patients treated with intravenous pulsed methylprednisolone: a preliminary report.

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has a high mortality and few therapeutic options. We present a preliminary report on our experience using high-dose pulsed methylprednisolone in COVID-19 ARDS and three-month outcomes. We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients treated with high-dose methylprednisolone for COVID-19 ARDS and three-month lung function, 6-minutes walking test (6MWT), and computerized tomography (CT) findings. Fifteen patients were treated of which 10 survived to discharge. Reduced diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) was the commonest abnormality in lung function tests and had the lowest mean value. Parenchymal bands were the commonest CT finding and 50% of patients had fibrosis at three months. Mean 6-minutes walk distance (6MWD) was 65.4% predicted and was abnormal in 62.5% of patients. In this cohort of patients with COVID-19 ARDS treated with high-dose methylprednisolone pulses, CT, lung function, and 6MWT abnormalities were unsurprisingly common at three months, although all 10 patients treated early in their disease course survived, a possible therapeutic effect. Further randomised controlled trials are needed to assess the benefits of this treatment.