Less Steroids, Better Outcomes: High-Dose Corticosteroids Harm ICU COPD Patients

A large pharmacoepidemiologic cohort study of over 17,000 US patients admitted directly to ICUs for acute exacerbations of COPD revealed that two-thirds received high-dose systemic corticosteroids (>240 mg/day methylprednisolone... read more

Protocol Power: Code Sepsis Boosts Bundle Compliance and Cuts Hospital Stays

Study Design: This was a retrospective, single-center study comparing patients with severe sepsis or septic shock before (Pre-Code Sepsis, PC) and after (After-Code Sepsis, AC) the implementation of a structured, team-based... read more

Steroids Save Lives in Severe Pneumonia and ARDS – Without Spiking Superbug Risk

A rigorous new systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 high-quality trials (3,459 patients) confirms that low-dose, short-course systemic corticosteroids significantly reduce short-term mortality in both severe pneumonia... read more

Corticosteroids in ARDS: Delaying High-Dose Methylprednisolone Doesn’t Kill

This large retrospective study investigated whether starting high-dose (2 mg/kg) methylprednisolone therapy after 14 days of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) onset increased the risk of complications or mortality... read more

Postoperative Steroids Linked to Longer Time on Ventilator

Postoperative use of systemic corticosteroids was linked to a longer duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), but it did not increase mortality or overall complications. While the study's initial analysis did not show... read more

Severe Listeriosis in the ICU: Critical Insights from a Multicenter Study

A retrospective multicenter study across 23 French hospitals over 10 years analyzed critically ill ICU patients with culture-confirmed "Listeria monocytogenes" infections. The study aimed to describe patient characteristics,... read more

Femoral Head Osteonecrosis in Post-COVID-19 Patients

This study provides an insight into the relationship between COVID-19-related factors and the development of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), emphasizing the critical role of cumulative steroid dose as the primary... read more

Asthma Course Evaluation in PICU Due to Severe Asthma Exacerbation

Admission to the PICU due to severe asthma exacerbation not only increases the risk of recurrent asthma exacerbations but also serves as a risk factor for stepping up maintenance treatment according to GINA guidelines during... read more

Expert Consensus Statements on Lipids in Parenteral Nutrition

Lipids are integral to parenteral nutrition (PN) in all settings where PN is required, serving as a source of energy and essential fatty acids. In addition, lipids modulate a variety of biological functions, including inflammatory... read more

Lymphocyte Count Trajectories Associated with Prognosis of Sepsis Patients

Three distinct lymphocyte trajectories were identified in sepsis patients using GBTM. Trajectory 3 was a strong predictor of 7-day and 28-day mortality, while Trajectory 1 was associated with early death. These findings... read more

Outcomes of Different Steroid Dosing Regimens in Critical Covid-19 Pneumonia

The study found that high-dose steroids in the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia did not confer any mortality benefit and were associated with an increased risk of dysglycemia and superimposed infections. A... read more

A Critical Reappraisal of Vasopressin and Steroids in IHCA

In view of the presented discussion/evidence and until publication of new evidence from a large, ongoing Swedish RCT, we suggest that vasopressin-steroids-epinephrine (VSE) might be considered in in-hospital cardiac arrest... read more

PLASMIC Score Role in the Management of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

At centers that are resource-limited and where ADAMTS-13 testing is not readily available, it is imminent that treatment is started immediately based on the clinical presentation and PLASMIC score. A PLASMIC score can... read more

Surfactant Therapies for Pediatric ARDS

We advocate for well-designed preclinical and explanatory clinical studies to investigate the use of surfactant for pediatric (PARDS) and neonatal (NARDS) acute respiratory distress syndrome. Given the accumulating knowledge... read more

Prevalence of PICS in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients usually require long periods of mechanical ventilation and sedation, which added to steroid therapy, favours a predisposition to the development of delirium and subsequent mental... read more

Lopinavir-ritonavir and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Patients

Recent trials involving steroids and other immunomodulators have shown benefits and contributed to improved care. Given the emerging nature of the virus, several repurposed agents were also considered as potential antiviral... read more

Association Between Pre-Existing Respiratory Disease and COVID-19

Previous studies suggested that the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 was lower than its prevalence in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess whether... read more

How to be EPIC in the COVID-19 Era

Evolution is afoot. It's entirely possible you have noticed somewhat of an alteration in the world around us. A pandemic—the downwind effect of a miniscule strand of RNA and its lollipop-studded shell, a savage little virus... read more

Steroids Confirmed to Help Severely Ill COVID-19 Patients

In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those... read more

Common Steroid Reduces Deaths Among Patients with Severe COVID-19

A cheap, readily available steroid drug reduced deaths by a third in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in a large study, the first time a therapy has been shown to possibly improve the odds of survival with the condition... read more

What’s Working for COVID-19 Patients in the Epicenter

Our large tertiary care ED in Queens, NY, usually sees more than 100,000 adults a year. As we write this, we have 850 COVID-19-likely or -positive patients (several hundred above our bed capacity just one month ago), more... read more

Update to the Vitamin C, Thiamine and Steroids in Sepsis (VICTAS) Protocol

The analyses described here are those necessary to answer the trial's primary question of whether combined treatment with vitamin C, thiamine and steroids is more effective than placebo in increasing days alive and free from... read more