Administration of corticosteroids in patients with severe influenza pneumonia is associated with increased ICU mortality, and these agents should not be used as co‑adjuvant therapy. A total of 1846 patients with primary influenza pneumonia were enrolled. Corticosteroids were administered in 604 (32.7%) patients, with methylprednisolone the most frequently used corticosteroid (578/604 [95.7%]). Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of critically ill patients with confirmed influenza pneumonia admitted to 148 ICUs in Spain between June 2009 and April 2014.

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