Corticosteroid treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)

Zha, Lei; Li, Shirong; Pan, Lingling; Tefsen, Boris; Li, Yeshan; French, Neil; Chen, Liyun; Yang, Gang; Villanueva, Elmer V

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of corticosteroid treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). DESIGN, SETTING: Observational study in the two COVID‐19‐designated hospitals in Wuhu, Anhui province, China, 24 January – 24 February 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty‐one patients infected with the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) treated at the two designated hospitals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Virus clearance time, length of hospital stay, and duration of symptoms, by treatment type (including or not including corticosteroid therapy). RESULTS: Eleven of 31 patients with COVID‐19 received corticosteroid treatment. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated no association between corticosteroid treatment and virus clearance time (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% CI, 0.58–2.74), hospital length of stay (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.33–1.78), or duration of symptoms (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.40–1.83). Univariate analysis indicated that virus clearance was slower in two patients with chronic hepatitis B infections (mean difference, 10.6 days; 95% CI, 6.2–15.1 days). CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids are widely used when treating patients with COVID‐19, but we found no association between therapy and outcomes in patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome. An existing HBV infection may delay SARS‐CoV‐2 clearance, and this association should be further investigated.