Meijvis 2011

Methods	Randomized controlled trial with 2 parallel groups 2 centres
Participants	Adults (n = 304) with confirmed community‐acquired pneumonia who presented to emergency departments
Interventions	Dexamethasone (5 mg intravenous bolus once a day for 4 days) Placebo (normal saline)
Outcomes	PRIMARY Length of hospital stay SECONDARY 30‐Day mortality Hospital mortality Duration of treatment with intravenous antibiotics Admission to ICU Inflammation markers and health performance Lung function Safety
Notes	Study location: The Netherlands
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Computer‐generated randomization scheme
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Randomization list kept confidential by the pharmacist
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Pharmacist: no Participants: yes Care‐givers: yes Data collectors: yes Outcome assessors: yes Data analysts: yes
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Lost to follow‐up: none
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All outcomes reported in the study protocol are reported in the final analysis
Other bias	Low risk	Full access to study protocol