New Study Finds Hydrocortisone May Reduce Risk of Death in Severe Community Acquired Pneumonia Patients
30 Mar 2023 • A recent study has found that hydrocortisone, a common steroid medication, may reduce the risk of death in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The Study: The phase 3, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial involved 800 patients admitted to intensive care units for severe CAP. Patients were randomly assigned either intravenous hydrocortisone or a placebo, in addition to standard therapy.
The Results: By day 28, death occurred in 6.2% of the hydrocortisone group and 11.9% of the placebo group. Patients who received hydrocortisone had a lower risk of death and a lower likelihood of requiring endotracheal intubation or vasopressors compared to the placebo group. The study also found no significant difference in the frequency of hospital-acquired infections or gastrointestinal bleeding between the two groups.
Should you consider the use of steroids in CAP? What is the dosage of steroid to be used to treat CAP? How to implement this new finding in practice? All this and much more will be discussed by Dr Mahadev Desai in the new monthly Medflix Original series “Changing Practice” on the 31st of March at 9:00 pm with experts on the subject! Be sure to log in for this premier show, this is where you can register and drop your questions to be taken up during the live discussion!