Corticosteroids in COVID-19 ARDS: evidence and hope during the pandemic
HC Prescott, TW Rice - Jama, 2020 - jamanetwork.com
Corticosteroids, such as hydrocortisone and dexamethasone, haveanti-inflammatory,
antifibrotic, andvasoconstrictiveeffects, which intensivists have been trying to leverage for
decades to improve outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
and septic shock. In the first description ofARDSin1967, Ashbaughand colleagues noted that
“corticosteroids appeared to have value in the treatment of patients with fat-embolism and
possibly viral pneumonia.” 1 Over the intervening decades, many clinical trials have tested …
antifibrotic, andvasoconstrictiveeffects, which intensivists have been trying to leverage for
decades to improve outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
and septic shock. In the first description ofARDSin1967, Ashbaughand colleagues noted that
“corticosteroids appeared to have value in the treatment of patients with fat-embolism and
possibly viral pneumonia.” 1 Over the intervening decades, many clinical trials have tested …