Comparison of standard dose with high dose of methylprednisolone in the management of COVID-19 patients admitted in ICU

CONTEXT: The pathological progression in severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) includes an excessive and unregulated pro-inflammatory cytokine storm. Though the efficacy of corticosteroids like methylprednisolone (MPS) in severe COVID-19 is proven now, its dose and duration are not precise. AIMS: Our study aimed to compare the effect of a standard dose (SD) of MPS (60–120 mg/day) to a high dose (HD) of MPS (>120 mg/day) on the outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This study was a cross-sectional study. Patients admitted to AIIMS, Bhopal’s intensive care unit (ICU) from July 2020 to March 2021 were enrolled in the study. METHODS AND MATERIAL: The patient’s medical records were extracted from the medical record section of the hospital. The primary endpoint was the all-cause mortality during the hospital stay. The secondary endpoints were the need for mechanical ventilation, the use of vasopressors, the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI), and secondary infections. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were entered in the MS Excel spreadsheet and coded appropriately. RESULTS: Our data showed that survival, the need for mechanical ventilation, the occurrence of AKI, and secondary bacterial infection are comparable among the two groups with no significant difference. The logistic regression analysis showed that there is a slightly higher risk of death for patients with an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) receiving HD of corticosteroids compared to SD, though these results were found to be statistically non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: In hospitalized patients suffering from severe COVID-19 pneumonia, an SD of MPS is as effective as an HD of MPS in terms of reduction in mortality and need for mechanical ventilation.