Methylprednisolone for COVID-19 Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Single-Centre Study

Ahmad, Bilal; Manzar, Adnan; Khrshid, Saba; Ul Hassan, Naeem; Muhammad, Anjum

Background: The role of various corticosteroids in the management of COVID-19 is evolving. Following an initial lack of evidence, the relatively novel data, supporting the survival benefit to severe and critical COVID-19 patients, is of limited scale. Materials and methods: This retrospective study observed medical records and disease outcomes of 200 patients with moderate, severe and critical COVID-19 receiving methylprednisolone (MP). The dose of methylprednisolone was 0.5 to 2 mg per kg in these patients. Results: Median age of presentation was 59 years. The median duration of symptoms at presentation was five days. The most common presenting symptoms were cough (77.5%), fever (67.5%) and shortness of breath (63.5%). Majority of patients (85%) presented in the first week of illness. One or more comorbidities were present in 75% of patients. Complications seen in the study cohort were cytokine release syndrome (CRS) 92 (46%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) 44 (22%) and multi-organ dysfunction 17 (8.5%). The median time for initiation of corticosteroid therapy was four hours. Overall survival (OS) in patients receiving methylprednisolone was 83.5%. The OS for patients with moderate, severe and critical diseases was 97.8%, 86.2% and 62%, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: Steroids like methylprednisolone are useful in COVID-19 admitted patients and provide excellent survival outcomes.