Short-Term Corticosteroid Therapy for Early Exacerbation of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case Report

Urano, Akira; Kasai, Hajime; Murai, Yushi; Ikeda, Hideki; Urushibara, Takashi

Patient: Male, 67-year-old Final Diagnosis: COVID-19 Symptoms: Hypoxia Medication:— Clinical Procedure: Short-term corticosteroid therapy Specialty: Infectious Diseases OBJECTIVE: Management of emergency care BACKGROUND: The effect of corticosteroids in the management of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unclear. CASE REPORT: A 67-year-old man who tested positive for COVID-19 by reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analysis was admitted to our hospital. On admission, he had no dyspnea and his oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) level was normal. Chest imaging revealed ground-glass opacities (GGO) distributed in both lung fields. Four days after admission, bilateral lung shadows worsened, with a slight reduction in SpO(2) levels. Short-term corticosteroid therapy was initiated, and SpO(2) and radiographic findings promptly improved without use of antiviral agents. CONCLUSIONS: More data are required to ascertain the role of corticosteroids in the management of COVID-19 pneumonia.