Primary outcome in the RECOVERY trial and in the WHO REACT meta-analysis was 28-day mortality. Assessing 28-day mortality may not be the optimal outcome in a trial.

Since patients with severe COVID-19 often require prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stays (beyond day-28), especially when receiving mechanical ventilation, it is unfortunate that long-term mortality (ICU, 60-day, or hospital mortality) was not reported in those two major studies.

Recent data on corticosteroid therapy in the management of COVID-19 are also important, but far to represent a “milestone” precluding definitive conclusions.

More studies are needed to evaluate issues such as type of corticosteroid, timing of initiation, optimum dose, duration of treatment, and “mandatory” long-term mortality.

Although the preliminary results of the RECOVERY trial represented a gigantic optimism for this pandemic, it is time to know their final, long-term outcome data.

Beneficial effects of 6 mg/day of dexamethasone at 28-day might not translate into longer-term benefit.

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