Table 3.
Summary of short-term safety and other outcomes during stay for use of early hydrocortisone
| Outcome | Hydrocortisone | Control | Number of trials | Risk ratio (95% CI) OR SMD (95% CI) | p value | NNT/H (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Events | Total | Events | Total | |||||
| All studies | ||||||||
| Survival to discharge | 602 | 728 | 583 | 743 | 12 | 1.05 (1.00, 1.11) | 0.04 | 24 (12.1, 524.2) |
| Sepsisa | 253 | 702 | 236 | 714 | 10 | 1.09 (0.95, 1.25) | 0.22 | |
| Pulmonary air leak | 48 | 609 | 43 | 623 | 5 | 1.13 (0.77, 1.67) | 0.54 | |
| Pulmonary haemorrhage | 53 | 584 | 41 | 598 | 4 | 1.32 (0.89, 1.95) | 0.16 | |
| GI bleeding | 2 | 25 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 2.08 (0.20, 21.52) | 0.54 | |
| Treated for hyperglycaemia | 207 | 508 | 192 | 520 | 6 | 1.10 (0.95, 1.28) | 0.20 | |
| Treated for hypertension | 4 | 196 | 5 | 198 | 2 | 0.80 (0.22, 2.93) | 0.74 | |
| Any IVH | 93 | 217 | 82 | 222 | 3 | 1.16 (0.92, 1.46) | 0.20 | |
| IVH grade III–IVb | 102 | 687 | 108 | 704 | 10 | 0.97 (0.76, 1.25) | 0.83 | |
| PVL | 21 | 584 | 30 | 607 | 8 | 0.75 (0.44, 1.27) | 0.28 | |
| NEC | 54 | 705 | 55 | 719 | 11 | 1.00 (0.70, 1.43) | 0.99 | |
| Discharged with home oxygen (survivors) | 33 | 348 | 43 | 341 | 4 | 0.76 (0.50, 1.15) | 0.20 | |
| Duration of mechanical ventilation (days) | 425 | 430 | 8 | −0.63 (−3.02, 1.77) | 0.61 | |||
| Duration of stay (days)c | 385 | 388 | 7 | −1.94 (−6.76, 2.89) | 0.43 | |||
| Treated for PDAd | 79 | 439 | 125 | 458 | 5 | 0.66 (0.52, 0.84) | < 0.01 | 11 (6.8, 25.9) |
| Treated for ROP | 25 | 477 | 30 | 486 | 5 | 0.83 (0.50, 1.37) | 0.46 | |
| BPD studies | ||||||||
| Survival to discharge | 417 | 505 | 401 | 515 | 5 | 1.06 (1.00, 1.13) | 0.06 | |
| Sepsis | 179 | 505 | 155 | 514 | 5 | 1.17 (0.99, 1.40) | 0.07 | |
| Pulmonary air leak | 30 | 460 | 29 | 471 | 3 | 1.04 (0.64, 1.70) | 0.86 | |
| Pulmonary haemorrhage | 37 | 435 | 30 | 446 | 2 | 1.26 (0.79, 2.01) | 0.33 | |
| GI bleeding | 2 | 25 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 2.08 (0.20, 21.52) | 0.54 | |
| Treated for hyperglycaemia | 196 | 460 | 184 | 472 | 3 | 1.09 (0.94, 1.28) | 0.25 | |
| Treated for hypertension | 4 | 180 | 5 | 180 | 1 | 0.80 (0.22, 2.93) | 0.74 | |
| Any IVH | 93 | 217 | 82 | 222 | 3 | 1.16 (0.92, 1.46) | 0.20 | |
| IVH grade III–IV | 77 | 497 | 74 | 509 | 5 | 1.07 (0.80, 1.44) | 0.65 | |
| PVL | 16 | 415 | 23 | 431 | 4 | 0.72 (0.39, 1.34) | 0.30 | |
| NEC | 29 | 504 | 31 | 513 | 5 | 0.95 (0.58, 1.55) | 0..84 | |
| Discharged with home oxygen (survivors) | 18 | 246 | 24 | 238 | 3 | 0.74 (0.42, 1.28) | 0.28 | |
| Duration of mechanical ventilation (days) | 249 | 249 | 4 | − 2.69 (− 6.98, 1.59) | 0.22 | |||
| Duration of stay (days) | 222 | 221 | 4 | − 1.02 (− 6.35, 4.31) | 0.71 | |||
| Treated for PDAd | 54 | 300 | 85 | 312 | 3 | 0.66 (0.49, 0.88) | < 0.01 | 11 (6, 3, 37.6) |
| Treated for ROP | 24 | 453 | 28 | 462 | 4 | 0.85 (0.51, 1.42) | 0.54 | |
aOnly first episode of sepsis included from Biswas 2003
bBourchier (1997) and Efird (2005) reported IVH grades II–IV
cEfird (2005) reported duration of stay in survivors only
dBaud (2016) and Biswas (2003) reported numbers of infants who had surgery for PDA