Corticosteroids for community-acquired pneumonia: time to act!
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* Corresponding author: Djillali Annane Djillali.annane@rpc.aphp.fr
1 Service de réanimation, hôpital Raymond Poincaré (AP-HP), Université de Versailles SQY (UniverSud Paris), 104 boulevard Raymond Poincaré, 92380 Garches, France
2 University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, 956 Court Avenue, Room H316, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
Critical Care 2008, 12:166 doi:10.1186/cc6940
Published: 14 July 2008Abstract
The use of corticosteroids for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia has been reported for almost 50 years. A recent systematic analysis of the relevant literature suggested that corticosteroids reduce the critical illness associated with community-acquired pneumonia. There is little doubt that a prolonged administration of a moderate dose of corticosteroids may alleviate the systemic inflammatory response and subsequent organ dysfunction in severe infection. Whether these favorable effects on morbidity may translate into better survival and quality of life needs to be addressed in additional adequately powered randomized controlled trials.