Comparative Evaluation of Injection Dexamethasone vs Injection Methylprednisolone in the Treatment of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Observational Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: It has been almost three years since the last wave of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).Even though promising reports of the vaccines have already been presented, the effective therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia is still elusive.The coronavirus causes hyperinflammation of the respiratory tract by releasing cytokines, thereby damaging the lung endothelial cells.The use of corticosteroids has already been established, i.e., by reducing the proinflammatory cytokines and enhancing the anti-inflammatory cytokines, but its right dosage in the treatment of COVID-19 is still uncertain.We conducted a study to ascertain the effectiveness of dexamethasone in comparison with methylprednisolone in the treatment of COVID-19 patients presenting with pneumonia.Materials and methods: This retrospective and observational study was conducted on 98 patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia in the intensive care unit (ICU) of ESI-PGIMSR Joka from April 2021 to August 2021.Results: The mean number of days of ICU stay in patients receiving dexamethasone was 12.88, and methylprednisolone was 12.61 (p-value = 0.77; not ≤0.05).The number of deaths in patients receiving dexamethasone was 10 out of 49, and methylprednisolone was 19 out of 49 (p-value = 0.04; <0.05).Conclusion: Dexamethasone had clear superiority over methylprednisolone in reducing mortality in patients admitted with moderate to severe forms of COVID-19 pneumonia in the ICU, whereas the number of days of ICU stay was similar in both groups.
Source: Bengal Physician Journal
Authors: Sabyasachi Bid, Sahanaz Sultana, Shreyasi Karmakar, Chandan Chatterjee, Rituparna Das, Surada Ravi
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4417075985