Research out of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, suggests corticosteroid therapy could be highly beneficial for patients with pneumonia.
Investigators examined and summarized the evidence from 13 randomized trials involving more than 2,000 patients. They found:
1. Patients with community-acquired pneumonia who received corticosteroids were discharged from the hospital one day sooner than patients who did not receive corticosteroid therapy.
2. Corticosteroid treatment reduced the need for mechanical ventilation (or the requirement for a breathing tube) from 9 percent to 5 percent of patients and the likelihood of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome from 8 percent to 2 percent of patients.
3. The steroid treatment was also linked to a significant reduction in death rates from 9 to 10 percent of patients down to 5 to 6 percent.
"Our study should lead to an important change in treatment for pneumonia," said lead author Dr. Reed Siemieniuk, MD, a physician and a graduate student at McMaster University. "Corticosteroids are inexpensive and readily available around the world. Millions of patients will benefit from this new evidence."
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