Schumer 1976

Methods	Randomized controlled trial with 3 parallel groups 1 centre
Participants	Adults (n = 172) with septic shock with positive blood culture
Interventions	Dexamethasone (3 mg/kg as a single intravenous bolus) Methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg as a single intravenous bolus) Placebo Treatments might have been repeated once after 4 hours and had to be initiated at the time of diagnosis
Outcomes	PRIMARY Hospital mortality SECONDARY Complication rates
Notes	Study location: USA
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	High risk	Randomized card system
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	High risk	Unsealed envelopes
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Participants: yes Care‐givers: unclear Data collectors: unclear Outcome assessors: unclear Data analysts: unclear
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Lost to follow‐up: none
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No access to study protocol
Other bias	Unclear risk	No data to exclude selection bias