Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal (Dec 2022)

Role of Methylprednisolone for Covid-19 Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital

  • Komal Arshad,
  • Zill e Humayun,
  • Sultan Mehmood Kamran,
  • Raheel Ifikhar,
  • Ali Yousaf,
  • Muhammad Usman Sajid

DOI
https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v72i6.6602
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 72, no. 6

Abstract

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Objective: To determine the role of Methylprednisolone in managing COVID-19 patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Pakistan Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH), Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan to Feb 2021. Methodology: This study was carried out at the Department of Medicine. Medical records of all moderate, severe and critical COVID-19 patients admitted and receiving Methylprednisolone were reviewed. Methylprednisolone was used in all patients at doses 0.-2 mg per kg. Results: A total of 200 cases were included. The most common presenting symptoms were cough (77.5%), fever (67.5%) and shortness of breath (63.5%). Most patients (85%) presented within the first week of their illness. One or more comorbidities were present in 75% of patients. Most common being hypertension in 70(35%) and diabetes mellitus in 63(31.5%).Complications seen in the study were Cytokine release storm 92(46%) and acute respiratory distress syndrome 44(22%). The median time for initiation of corticosteroid therapy was 4 hours (range 1-96 hours). Overall survival (OS) in the study was 83.5%. OS for patients with moderate, severe and critical diseases was 97.8%, 86.2% and 62%, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: Corticosteroids are useful in COVID-19-admitted patients and provide excellent survival outcomes. Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome, COVID-19, Cytokine release storm, Methylprednisolone.

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