Salma AlBahrani1,2, Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq3,4,5, Arulanantham Zachariah Jebakumar6, Mohammed Alghamdi1, Nawaf Zakary1, Mariam Seria1, Abdulrahman Alrowis1. 1. Department of Medicine, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 2. Infectious Disease Unit, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 3. Infectious Disease Unit, Specialty Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia. 4. Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA. 5. Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 6. Postgraduate Studies and Research, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: There is no specific anti-viral therapies for 2019 Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) infection. Here, we compared patients receiving steroids at different dosages versus no steroids in severe and critical COVID-19 patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied COVID-19 patients who received low-dose or high-dose corticosteroid therapy compared to no steroid. RESULTS: The study period, June-August 2020, included 169 patients with COVID-19 were included and there were 39.1% female and 60.9% male with an average age of 53.1 years. The distribution of cases was as follows: high-dose 39 (23.1%), low-dose 54 (32.0%), and no steroid 76 (45.5%). Of all the patients, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission was for 31 (18.3%), nine (5.3%) required intubation, and 52 (30.8%) had no comorbidities. There is no difference in the mean age between the different groups. However, those being treated with steroid were more likely to have a high sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (0.37 ± 0.68, 0.36 ± 0.67 and 0.04 ± 0.34, for low-dose, high-dose steroid and no steroid groups, respectively (p = 0.001). Cox regression was not possible as the mortality rate was very low (3/169; 1.78%) and none of the multivariate methods would be possible. However, there was a significant difference in the hospital Length of stay (LOS) and the ICU LOS. CONCLUSION: Cox regression was not possible as the mortality rate was very low (1.78%) and none of the multivariate methods would be possible as the model will not converge. However, in t-test only, intubation was associated risk of mortality.
INTRODUCTION: There is no specific anti-viral therapies for 2019 Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) infection. Here, we compared patients receiving steroids at different dosages versus no steroids in severe and critical COVID-19patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied COVID-19patients who received low-dose or high-dose corticosteroid therapy compared to no steroid. RESULTS: The study period, June-August 2020, included 169 patients with COVID-19 were included and there were 39.1% female and 60.9% male with an average age of 53.1 years. The distribution of cases was as follows: high-dose 39 (23.1%), low-dose 54 (32.0%), and no steroid 76 (45.5%). Of all the patients, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission was for 31 (18.3%), nine (5.3%) required intubation, and 52 (30.8%) had no comorbidities. There is no difference in the mean age between the different groups. However, those being treated with steroid were more likely to have a high sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (0.37 ± 0.68, 0.36 ± 0.67 and 0.04 ± 0.34, for low-dose, high-dose steroid and no steroid groups, respectively (p = 0.001). Cox regression was not possible as the mortality rate was very low (3/169; 1.78%) and none of the multivariate methods would be possible. However, there was a significant difference in the hospital Length of stay (LOS) and the ICU LOS. CONCLUSION:Cox regression was not possible as the mortality rate was very low (1.78%) and none of the multivariate methods would be possible as the model will not converge. However, in t-test only, intubation was associated risk of mortality.