Comparison 1. Any steroid (po, IM, IV, inhaled) vs placebo.

Outcome or subgroup title	No. of studies	No. of participants	Statistical method	Effect size
1 Admitted to hospital (all times)	12	844	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.50 [0.31, 0.81]
2 Admitted to hospital (1‐2 hours)	2	126	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.38 [0.41, 4.67]
3 Admitted to hospital (3‐4 hours)	6	366	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.47 [0.24, 0.91]
4 Admitted to hospital (5‐6 hours)	7	606	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.31 [0.15, 0.64]