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Research

Efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in COVID-19 based on evidence for COVID-19, other coronavirus infections, influenza, community-acquired pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Zhikang Ye, Ying Wang, Luis Enrique Colunga-Lozano, Manya Prasad, Wimonchat Tangamornsuksan, Bram Rochwerg, Liang Yao, Shahrzad Motaghi, Rachel J. Couban, Maryam Ghadimi, Malgorzata M. Bala, Huda Gomaa, Fang Fang, Yingqi Xiao and Gordon H. Guyatt
CMAJ July 06, 2020 192 (27) E756-E767; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.200645
Zhikang Ye
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Ying Wang
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Luis Enrique Colunga-Lozano
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Manya Prasad
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Wimonchat Tangamornsuksan
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Bram Rochwerg
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Liang Yao
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Shahrzad Motaghi
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Rachel J. Couban
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Maryam Ghadimi
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Malgorzata M. Bala
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Huda Gomaa
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Fang Fang
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Yingqi Xiao
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Gordon H. Guyatt
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ye, Tangamornsuksan, Rochwerg, Guyatt, Colunga-Lozano, Yao, Motaghi, Fang, Xiao), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pharmacy (Wang), Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Medicine (Colunga-Lozano), Health Science Center, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Department of Community Medicine (Prasad), North DMC Medical College, New Delhi, India; Faculty of Medicine and Public Health (Tangamornsuksan), HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Medicine (Rochwerg); DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (Couban), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Ghadimi), Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Jagiellonian (Bala), University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; Biostatistics Department (Gomaa), High institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Drug Information Center (Gomaa), Tanta Chest Hospital, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt; Clinical Medicine College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation (Fang), Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China; West China School of Nursing (Xiao), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Very little direct evidence exists on use of corticosteroids in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Indirect evidence from related conditions must therefore inform inferences regarding benefits and harms. To support a guideline for managing COVID-19, we conducted systematic reviews examining the impact of corticosteroids in COVID-19 and related severe acute respiratory illnesses.

METHODS: We searched standard international and Chinese biomedical literature databases and prepublication sources for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies comparing corticosteroids versus no corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). For acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), influenza and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), we updated the most recent rigorous systematic review. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses to pool relative risks and then used baseline risk in patients with COVID-19 to generate absolute effects.

RESULTS: In ARDS, according to 1 small cohort study in patients with COVID-19 and 7 RCTs in non–COVID-19 populations (risk ratio [RR] 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55 to 0.93, mean difference 17.3% fewer; low-quality evidence), corticosteroids may reduce mortality. In patients with severe COVID-19 but without ARDS, direct evidence from 2 observational studies provided very low-quality evidence of an increase in mortality with corticosteroids (hazard ratio [HR] 2.30, 95% CI 1.00 to 5.29, mean difference 11.9% more), as did observational data from influenza studies. Observational data from SARS and MERS studies provided very low-quality evidence of a small or no reduction in mortality. Randomized controlled trials in CAP suggest that corticosteroids may reduce mortality (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.98, 3.1% lower; very low-quality evidence), and may increase hyperglycemia.

INTERPRETATION: Corticosteroids may reduce mortality for patients with COVID-19 and ARDS. For patients with severe COVID-19 but without ARDS, evidence regarding benefit from different bodies of evidence is inconsistent and of very low quality.

See related article at www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200648

  • Accepted May 1, 2020.
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Canadian Medical Association Journal: 192 (27)
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Efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in COVID-19 based on evidence for COVID-19, other coronavirus infections, influenza, community-acquired pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Zhikang Ye, Ying Wang, Luis Enrique Colunga-Lozano, Manya Prasad, Wimonchat Tangamornsuksan, Bram Rochwerg, Liang Yao, Shahrzad Motaghi, Rachel J. Couban, Maryam Ghadimi, Malgorzata M. Bala, Huda Gomaa, Fang Fang, Yingqi Xiao, Gordon H. Guyatt
CMAJ Jul 2020, 192 (27) E756-E767; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.200645

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Efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in COVID-19 based on evidence for COVID-19, other coronavirus infections, influenza, community-acquired pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Zhikang Ye, Ying Wang, Luis Enrique Colunga-Lozano, Manya Prasad, Wimonchat Tangamornsuksan, Bram Rochwerg, Liang Yao, Shahrzad Motaghi, Rachel J. Couban, Maryam Ghadimi, Malgorzata M. Bala, Huda Gomaa, Fang Fang, Yingqi Xiao, Gordon H. Guyatt
CMAJ Jul 2020, 192 (27) E756-E767; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.200645
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