Role of corticosteroids in the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

BACKGROUND

Evidence exploring the use of corticosteroids for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has targeted various stages of disease progression, from preventing ARDS in high-risk patients to halting disease evolution once ARDS has developed.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this review was to evaluate randomized, controlled trials describing the role of corticosteroids in preventing and treating ARDS.

METHODS

English-language randomized, controlled trials were identified using MEDLINE via PubMed and EMBASE searches (key terms: acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute lung injury, and corticosteroids; years: 1968-January 2008).

RESULTS

A total of 10 trials were found and included in this analysis. Trials describing the role of high-dose corticosteroids compared with controls in preventing ARDS found no benefit, with the range of occurrence of ARDS in at-risk populations from 14% to 64% and absolute increases in mortality from 4% to 31%. Conflicting evidence was found for treating late-phase ARDS with corticosteroids, with 13% hospital mortality among patients receiving corticosteroids versus 63% with controls (P = 0.03) in one small study, but no significant difference was found when evaluating 60-day mortality (corticosteroid group, 29.2% vs control, 28.6%) in another investigation. The use of high-dose corticosteroids for the treatment of early phase ARDS was not associated with significant differences in 45-day mortality (methylprednisolone, 60% vs control, 63%). However, one trial found that methylprednisolone taper for early ARDS was associated with significant improvement in lung function or extubation (69.8% vs 35.7%; P = 0.002), fewer days on mechanical ventilation (median, 5.0 vs 9.5; P = 0.002), higher intensive care unit survival (79.4% vs 57.4%; P = 0.03), but similar rates of hospital survival (methylprednisolone, 76.2% vs control, 57.1%; P = NS).

CONCLUSIONS

Data from clinical trials did not support the use of short-course, high-dose corticosteroids for preventing ARDS or for the treatment of early ARDS. Longer-course corticosteroids have not conclusively been associated with improved survival in the treatment of late-phase ARDS but have provided some benefits in other markers of disease severity in this setting and in early phase ARDS. Published trials support the administration of low- to moderate-dose corticosteroids in the treatment of early (<7 days) and late-phase (days 7\2-14) ARDS, but this evidence is controversial.