Cited by 2,257COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesRespiratory Support and MechanismsAdrenal Hormones and Disorders

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 8 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Association Between Administration of Systemic Corticosteroids and Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19: A Meta-analysis

Open access

Abstract

Importance: Effective therapies for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are needed, and clinical trial data have demonstrated that low-dose dexamethasone reduced mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who required respiratory support. Objective: To estimate the association between administration of corticosteroids compared with usual care or placebo and 28-day all-cause mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants: Prospective meta-analysis that pooled data from 7 randomized clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy of corticosteroids in 1703 critically ill patients with COVID-19. The trials were conducted in 12 countries from February 26, 2020, to June 9, 2020, and the date of final follow-up was July 6, 2020. Pooled data were aggregated from the individual trials, overall, and in predefined subgroups. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Inconsistency among trial results was assessed using the I2 statistic. The primary analysis was an inverse variance-weighted fixed-effect meta-analysis of overall mortality, with the association between the intervention and mortality quantified using odds ratios (ORs). Random-effects meta-analyses also were conducted (with the Paule-Mandel estimate of heterogeneity and the Hartung-Knapp adjustment) and an inverse variance-weighted fixed-effect analysis using risk ratios. Exposures: Patients had been randomized to receive systemic dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, or methylprednisolone (678 patients) or to receive usual care or placebo (1025 patients). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 28 days after randomization. A secondary outcome was investigator-defined serious adverse events. Results: A total of 1703 patients (median age, 60 years [interquartile range, 52-68 years]; 488 [29%] women) were included in the analysis. Risk of bias was assessed as "low" for 6 of the 7 mortality results and as "some concerns" in 1 trial because of the randomization method. Five trials reported mortality at 28 days, 1 trial at 21 days, and 1 trial at 30 days. There were 222 deaths among the 678 patients randomized to corticosteroids and 425 deaths among the 1025 patients randomized to usual care or placebo (summary OR, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.53-0.82]; P < .001 based on a fixed-effect meta-analysis). There was little inconsistency between the trial results (I2 = 15.6%; P = .31 for heterogeneity) and the summary OR was 0.70 (95% CI, 0.48-1.01; P = .053) based on the random-effects meta-analysis. The fixed-effect summary OR for the association with mortality was 0.64 (95% CI, 0.50-0.82; P < .001) for dexamethasone compared with usual care or placebo (3 trials, 1282 patients, and 527 deaths), the OR was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.43-1.12; P = .13) for hydrocortisone (3 trials, 374 patients, and 94 deaths), and the OR was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.29-2.87; P = .87) for methylprednisolone (1 trial, 47 patients, and 26 deaths). Among the 6 trials that reported serious adverse events, 64 events occurred among 354 patients randomized to corticosteroids and 80 events occurred among 342 patients randomized to usual care or placebo. Conclusions and Relevance: In this prospective meta-analysis of clinical trials of critically ill patients with COVID-19, administration of systemic corticosteroids, compared with usual care or placebo, was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1001/jama.2020.17023

Cites

30 of 30 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 8 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 74 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 27
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 16
37 of 37
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    For illustrative absolute risk estimates, the mortality risk without corticosteroids was assumed to be 40%.

    “we assumed a mortality risk without corticosteroids of 40% (approximately, the risk among all patients allocated to usual care or placebo)”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    For subgroup absolute risk estimates, the mortality risk without corticosteroids was assumed to equal the observed risk among patients in that subgroup randomized to usual care or placebo.

    “we assumed a mortality risk equal to the observed risk across patients in that subgroup who were randomized to usual care or placebo”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Patient management after June 9, 2020 was likely affected by the release of the RECOVERY trial results.

    “because patient management after that date was likely to be affected by the release of results of the RECOVERY trial on June 16, 2020”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The effect of corticosteroids on 28-day mortality after discharge does not differ from the effect before discharge.

    “We are aware of no reason that the effect of corticosteroids on postdischarge 28-day mortality would differ from that on predischarge mortality”
4 of 4

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

  • Nonventilated control-group risk uses the wrong percentage

    Minor

    The figure gives 28 deaths among 74 nonventilated control patients, an observed risk of 37.8%, not 42%. The stated 38% and 42% control risks appear to have been exchanged between the ventilation subgroups.

    Reported 42 · recomputed 37.837838

  • Ventilated patient count is 100 too low

    Minor

    The subgroup figure lists 608 corticosteroid patients and 951 control patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, totaling 1559 rather than 1459.

    Reported 1459 · recomputed 1559

2 of 2

Citations

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Show all 30 references

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Sterne, Corticosteroid therapy for critically ill patients with COVID-19., Trials
  2. Langan, 2017, Comparative performance of heterogeneity variance estimators in meta-analysis., Res Synth Methods, 8, 181, 10.1002/jrsm.v8.2 · DOI
  3. Jeronimo, Methylprednisolone as adjunctive therapy for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (Metcovid)., Clin Infect Dis

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Metadata

Authors
The WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group, Sterne, J. A. C., Murthy, S., Diaz, J. V., Slutsky, A. S., Villar, J., Angus, D. C., Annane, D., Azevedo, L. C. P., Berwanger, O., Cavalcanti, A. B., Dequin, P.-F., Du, B., Emberson, J., Fisher, D., Giraudeau, B., Gordon, A. C., Granholm, A., Green, C., Haynes, R., Heming, N., Higgins, J. P. T., Horby, P., Jüni, P., Landray, M. J., Le Gouge, A., Leclerc, M., Lim, W. S., Machado, F. R., McArthur, C., Meziani, F., Møller, M. H., Perner, A., Petersen, M. W., Savovic, J., Tomazini, B., Veiga, V. C., Webb, S., & Marshall, J. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Bristol (GB)
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
  • St. Michael's Hospital (CA)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • Hospital Sírio-Libanês, São Paulo, Brazil
  • Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (BR)
  • Université de Tours (FR)
  • Médecine Intensive-Réanimation, INSERM CIC1415, CHRU de Tours, Tours, France
  • Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CN)
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Inserm (FR)
  • University of Copenhagen (DK)
  • Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
  • CIC INSERM 1415-CHRU de Tours, Tours, France
  • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (GB)
  • Anesthesiology, Pain, and Intensive Care Department, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, England
  • St John of God Subiaco Hospital (AU)
Corresponding author
Sterne, Jonathan A. C.
Venue
JAMA
Published
2020-10-06
Volume
324
Issue
13
Pages
1330
ISSN
  • 0002-9955 (ISSN-L)
  • 0098-7484
OpenAlex
W3082355253
Cited by
2,257
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 175 · 2023: 302 · 2022: 538 · 2021: 906 · 2020: 204
FWCI
63.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • JAMA (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Amgen
  • Pfizer
  • AstraZeneca
  • World Health Organization
  • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
  • UK Research and Innovation
  • Medicines Company
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (11/46/14, NF-SI-0616-10111, COVID-19, NF-SI-0617-10145, RP-2015-06-018)
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Nottingham
  • Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
  • Monash University
  • University of Toronto
  • Novo Nordisk
  • Rigshospitalet
  • Universidade de São Paulo
  • Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Novo Nordisk Fonden (NNF20SA0062998)
  • Universidade do Estado do Amazonas
  • Minderoo Foundation
  • Abbott Vascular
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12023/22, MC_UU_12023/21, MC_UU_00017/3, MC_PC_20062)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council
  • Health Research Council of New Zealand
  • NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre
  • Health Data Research UK
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Respiratory Support and Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, systemic corticosteroids, dexamethasone, cortisol, methylprednisolone, 28-day mortality, critically ill patients, serious adverse events, corticosteroid therapy, risk of bias, subgroup analysis, risk of bias assessment
MeSH terms
Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Drug Treatment, Adrenal Cortex Hormones, Cause of Death, Dexamethasone, Glucocorticoids, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Methylprednisolone, Pneumonia, Viral, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Critical Illness, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics

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