Search

BACKGROUND. Corticosteroids are widely used in patients with COVID 19, although their benefit-to-risk ratio remains controversial. METHODS. Patients with severe COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were included from December 29, 2019 to March 16, 2020 in 5 tertiary Chinese hospitals. Cox proportional hazards and competing risks analyses were conducted to analyze the impact of corticosteroids on mortality and SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance, respectively. We performed a propensity score (PS) matching analysis to control confounding factors. RESULTS. Of 774 eligible patients, 409 patients received corticosteroids, with a median time from hospitalization to starting corticosteroids of 1.0 day (IQR 0.0-3.0 days) . As compared with usual care, treatment with corticosteroids was associated with increased rate of myocardial (15.6% vs. 10.4%, P = 0.041) and liver injury (18.3% vs. 9.9%, P = 0.001), of shock (22.0% vs. 12.6%, P < 0.001), of need for mechanical ventilation (38.1% vs. 19.5%, P < 0.001), and increased rate of 28-day all-cause mortality (44.3% vs. 31.0%, P < 0.001). After PS matching, corticosteroid therapy was associated with 28-day mortality (adjusted HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.01-2.13, P = 0.045). High dose (>200 mg) and early initiation ([less than or equal to] 3 days from hospitalization) of corticosteroid therapy were associated with a higher 28-day mortality rate. Corticosteroid use was also associated with a delay in SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus RNA clearance in the competing risk analysis (subhazard ratio 1.59, 95% CI 1.17-2.15, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION. Administration of corticosteroids in severe COVID-19-related ARDS is associated with increased 28-day mortality and delayed SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus RNA clearance after adjustment for time-varying confounders. FUNDING. None., Introduction SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide (1). As of July 17, there were more than 13 million cases and 585,727 deaths worldwide, including over 4000 reported deaths in China (1). There [...]

Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has become an effective multiple organ support therapy instead of single renal replacement as initially expected, and it is widely used in intensive care unit (ICU). After the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a series of expert recommendation or consensus have been developed to diagnose and treat the disease, including CRRT in acute kidney injury (AKI) and hyper inflammatory response. However, CRRT in COVID-19 is extraordinarily different from regular one due to different pathophysiology and infectious clinical scenarios. Accordingly, the paper aims to elaborate the similarities and differences between CRRT in COVID-19 and routine treatment in terms of safety and accessibility, indications and timing, clinical operation, anticoagulation, fluid management, prevention and control of infectious diseases, etc.