TY - JOUR T1 - Treatment with 3-day methylprednisolone pulses in severe cases of COVID-19 compared with the standard regimen protocol of dexamethasone JF - Journal of Investigative Medicine JO - J Investig Med SP - 1423 LP - 1428 DO - 10.1136/jim-2021-002274 VL - 70 IS - 6 AU - Maria Dafni AU - Maria Karampeli AU - Ioannis Michelakis AU - Aspasia Manta AU - Anastasia Spanoudaki AU - Dionysios Mantzos AU - Sofia Krontira AU - Victoria Georgiadou AU - Athina Lioni AU - Vasiliki Tzavara Y1 - 2022/08/01 UR - http://hw-f5-jim.highwire.org/content/70/6/1423.abstract N2 - Since the outbreak of COVID-19, research has been focused on establishing effective treatments, especially for patients with severe pneumonia and hyperinflammation. The role and dose of corticosteroids remain obscure. We evaluated 58 patients with severe COVID-19 during two periods. 24 patients who received methylprednisolone pulses (250 mg/day intravenously for 3 days) were compared with 34 patients treated according to the standard dexamethasone protocol of 6 mg/day. Among non-intubated patients, the duration of hospitalization was shorter for those who received methylprednisolone pulses (9.5 vs 13.5, p<0.001). In a subgroup analysis of patients who required intubation, those treated with the dexamethasone protocol demonstrated a relative risk=1.89 (p=0.09) for dying, in contrast to the other group which showed a tendency towards extubation and discharge from the hospital. A ‘delayed’ need for intubation was also observed (6 vs 2 days, p=0.06). Treatment with methylprednisolone pulses significantly reduced hospitalization time. Although there was no statistically significant influence on the necessity for intubation, methylprednisolone pulses revealed a tendency to delay intubation and hospital discharges. This treatment could benefit patients in the hyperinflammatory phase of the disease.Data are available upon reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplemental information. The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplemental materials. Further data of this study are available from the corresponding author, VT, upon reasonable request. ER -