Affiliation:
1. Intensive Care Unit, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
2. Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Abstract
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on mortality in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). A systematic search was made of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov, without language restrictions. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of COVID-19 with ICS were reviewed. Studies were pooled to risk ratios (RRs), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Eleven RCTs (enrolling 5832 participants) met the inclusion criteria. There was no statistically significant difference in COVID-19-related death (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.38–2.04), all-cause death (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.49–2.23), and invasive ventilation (RR 1.26, 95% CI 0.60–2.62) between the two groups. ICS was not associated with reduced mortality and invasive ventilation in patients with COVID-19.