Table 4.

Comparisons of published meta-analyses

Study (Ref.)	Included studies	Summary of study conclusion	Additional remarks
Adhikari et al.(2004) [9]	Three RCTs	Early high-dose corticosteroids had no effect on early mortality. Corticosteroids given for late phase ARDS reduced hospital mortality.	Study interest not focused on corticosteroids; few studies and small sample size.
Agarwal et al. (2007) [10]	Four RCTs and two cohort studies	Current evidence does not support a role for corticosteroids in the management of ARDS in either the early or late stages of the disease.	Excluding the RCTs of preventive use of corticosteroids; including high-dose corticosteroid study.
Peter et al. (2008) [11]	Nine RCTs (eight RCTs for mortality analysis)	A definitive role of corticosteroids in the treatment of ARDS in adults is not established.	Including the RCTs of preventive use of corticosteroids; excluding pneumonia studies; using Bayesian random effects models for data pooling.
Tang et al. (2009) [12]	Four RCTs (three ARDS studies and one pneumonia study) and five cohort studies	The use of low-dose corticosteroids was associated with improved mortality and morbidity outcomes without increased adverse reactions.	Including a RCT of pneumonia; excluding studies of high-dose and preventive use of corticosteroids.
Lamontagne et al. (2010) [13]	Twelve RCTs (six ARDS studies and six pneumonia studies)	Corticosteroids administered within 14 days of disease onset may reduce all-cause mortality.	Including six studies of pneumonia.

ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; RCTs, randomized controlled trials.