Impact of corticosteroid doses on prognosis of severe and critical COVID-19 patients with Omicron variant infection: a propensity score matching study

Abstract

Abstract Background There is lack of research on corticosteroid use for severe and critical COVID-19 patients with Omicron variant infection. Methods This multi-center retrospective cohort study involved 1167 patients from 59 ICUs across the mainland of China diagnosed with severe or critical SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection between November 1, 2022, and February 11, 2023. Patients were segregated into two groups based on their corticosteroid treatment—usual dose (equivalent prednisone dose 30–50 mg/day) and higher dose (equivalent prednisone dose > 50 mg/day). The primary outcome was 28-day ICU mortality. Propensity score matching was used to compare outcomes between cohorts. Results After propensity score matching, 520 patients in the usual dose corticosteroid group and 260 patients in the higher dose corticosteroid group were included in the analysis, respectively. The mortality was significantly higher in the higher dose corticosteroid group (67.3%, 175/260) compared to the usual dose group (56.0%, 291/520). Logistic regression showed that higher doses of corticosteroids were significantly associated with increased mortality at 28-day (OR = 1.62,95% CI 1.19–2.21, p = 0.002) and mortality in ICU stay (OR = 1.66,95% CI 1.21–2.28, p = 0.002). Different types of corticosteroids did not affect the effect. Conclusions The study suggests that higher-dose corticosteroids may lead to a poorer prognosis for severe and critical COVID-19 patients with Omicron variant infection in the ICU. Further research is needed to determine the appropriate corticosteroid dosage for these patients.