Dexamethasone 12 mg vs 6 mg for patients with COVID-19 and severe hypoxaemia
ESICM Talk: Episode 3
Systemic corticosteroids decrease mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19, and the World Health Organization, therefore, recommends dexamethasone 6 mg daily for up to 10 days for patients with severe or critical COVID-19.
In addition, higher doses of systemic corticosteroids have been used in patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome [3, 5, 6], and higher doses have been hypothesised to benefit patients with severe or critical COVID-19.
However, the balance between benefit and harm remains uncertain.
The COVID STEROID 2 trial compared a higher (12 mg) versus recommended dose (6 mg) of dexamethasone daily, for up to 10 days, in patients with COVID-19 and severe hypoxaemia.
Dr Granholm was interviewed by ICM Associate Editor Dr Shankar-Hari about the methodology and the findings of the study. Listen to the podcast for the full interview.