To use or not to use: 2024 updated guidelines on use of corticosteroids
Corticosteroids are dual edged sword in medicine. Physicians prescribe corticosteroids to patients with viral infections to life threatening ARDS. The side effects are often neglected but cause significant reduction in quality of life of the patient. The last update of use of corticosteroid use in critical care medicine was in 2017. With the availability of newer evidence, an updated guidelines have been published.
This blog is an attempt to make the guidelines simple for the healthcare workers. So just dive into it….
The society of critical care medicine (SCCM) created a panel of experts who participated in data abstraction, analysis and attended panel discussions to create new update on use of corticosteroids in critically ill patients
What are the questions answered?
- Should corticosteroids be administered to hospitalized patients with sepsis?
- If patients with sepsis are administered corticosteroids, should high dose/short duration or low dose/long duration be used?
- Should corticosteroids compared with no corticosteroids be used in patients with ARDS?
- Should methylprednisolone be used over other corticosteroids in patients with ARDS?
- Should corticosteroids be administered to hospitalized patients with CAP?
What are the recommendations?
Corticosteroids are not indicated in paediatric patients with ARDS, severe CAP and sepsis
The guidelines also mention common corticosteroid regimens for sepsis, ARDS and CAP. Kindly go through the publication for more details
