Table 2.

Studies assessing the effectiveness of steroids in patients with viral pneumonia

Article	Study type	Therapy	Etiology	Patients (n)	Effects
63	Meta-analysis	CS vs No CS treatment	Influenza virus	4916	Higher mortality (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.62–2.43, p < 0.00001) in CS group
64	Retrospective cohort study	Early CS treatment vs Non early CS treatment	Influenza virus	241	Higher hospital mortality rate in CS group
65	Case control study	Low-to-moderate dose vs High-dose CS	Influenza A (H1N1)	2141	Reduced 30-day and 60-day mortality in patients receiving low-to-moderate-CS dose with PaO2 /FiO2 < 300 mm Hg
66	Randomized controlled trial	Dexamethasone vs Standard of care	COVID-19	6425	Reduced 28-day mortality rate in the dexamethasone group receiving ventilatory support
67	Meta-analysis	CS vs Standard of care	COVID-19	1703	Advantage after treatment with dexamethasone (6 mg daily)

CS: corticosteroid, ARDS: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, aHR: adjusted Hazard Ratio, IMV: invasive mechanical ventilation