Bernard 1987

Methods	n = 99, 7 centres Allocation concealment: sequentially numbered drug packs Baseline similarity: age (A), duration of ventilation (A), organ failures (A), sepsis Blinding: caregivers, investigating team Cointerventions: not described Withdrawals: none Losses to follow‐up: none
Participants	Inclusions: Risk factor for ARDS; bilateral CXR infiltrates; PaO2 of 70 mmHg or less on FiO2 of at least 0.4, or PaO2/PAO2 of 0.3 or less; no LAH Exclusions: Hypotension; burns; some infections
Interventions	IV methylprednisolone,30 mg/kg IV every 6 hours for 4 doses, or placebo
Outcomes	45 day mortality: RR 0.95 (95% CI 0.69 to 1.29) Adverse events leading to discontinuation of therapy not reported Other safety information: infectious complications (treatment: 8/50, control: 5/49)
Notes	Mean duration of mechanical ventilation before study entry was 2.8 days (standard error 0.5 days) in the methylprednisolone group and 1.9 days (standard error 0.4 days) in the placebo group.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	A ‐ Adequate