Gautam 2021.

Methods	Trial design: randomised controlled trial Type of publication: journal publication Setting: inpatient Recruitment dates: 15 April to 15 June 2021 Country: India Language: English Number of centres: 1 Trial registration number: not stated Date first posted: not stated
Participants	Age: mean age 45.50 years in the methylprednisolone group 45.34 years in the dexamethasone group Gender: 46 male (65.71%) and 24 (34.28%) in the methylprednisolone group 50 male (71.42%) and 20 female (28.57%) in the dexamethasone group Proportion of confirmed infections: PCR positivity inclusion criterion Ethnicity: not stated Number of participants (recruited/allocated/evaluated) Recruited: 140 Allocated: 70 methylprednisolone group, 70 dexamethasone group Evaluated: 70 methylprednisolone group, 70 dexamethasone group Severity of condition according to study definition: moderate‐to‐severe COVID‐19 cases according to definition, patients having oxygen saturation < 93% on room air Severity of condition according to WHO score: moderate to severe ≥ 5 Co‐morbidities: diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypothyroidism, heart disease, obesity, malignancy Inclusion criteria: Age: 18 to 75 years COVID‐19 RT‐PCR positive Moderate‐to‐severe COVID‐19 cases according to definition Patients having oxygen saturation < 93% on room air, regardless of chest X‐ray infiltrates Patients given informed consent Exclusion criteria: Pregnant or lactating females Immunocompromised conditions such as HIV or long‐term use of immunosuppressant for any chronic illness Previous treatments (e.g. experimental drug therapies, oxygen therapy, ventilation): not stated
Interventions	Treatment details of intervention group (e.g. dose, route of administration, number of doses) Type of corticosteroid: methylprednisolone Dose: 2.0 mg/kg bodyweight for 3 days followed by 1.0 mg/kg for 3 days in the divided dose Route of administration: IV Treatment details of control group (e.g. dose, route of administration, number of doses): dexamethasone, 8 mg/day intravenously daily in divided dose up to 10 days Concomitant therapy (e.g. description of standard care): patients were given oxygen by nasal cannula, face mask, and non‐rebreathing mask Duration of follow‐up: day 0, 5, 10 Treatment cross‐overs: no Compliance with assigned treatment: yes
Outcomes	Primary study outcome: not stated Additional study outcomes: all‐cause mortality, hospital‐acquired infections, radiological improvement, transfer to intensive care unit, hyperglycaemic coma, clinical improvement
Notes	Date of publication: 1 December 2021 Sponsor/funding: none