Odds of mortality or discharge to hospice reduced for those receiving supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation and\/or ECMO<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, April 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Early administration of dexamethasone is associated with significantly reduced odds of mortality or discharge to hospice for inpatients with COVID-19 receiving supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation (MV) and\/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), according to a study published online April 18 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ahmad Mourad, M.D., from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues examined the clinical use of dexamethasone and treatment outcomes for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 respiratory illness in a retrospective cohort study involving adults hospitalized for at least 48 hours for COVID-19 respiratory illness. A total of 80,699 patients met the eligibility criteria; of these, 16.2, 69.8, 9.4, and 4.6 percent did not require supplemental oxygen within 48 hours of admission, required supplemental oxygen, required noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV), and needed MV and\/or ECMO, respectively.<\/p>\n The researchers found that early use of dexamethasone was associated with a reduction in a composite outcome of in-hospital mortality or discharge to hospice for patients receiving supplemental oxygen and MV and\/or ECMO (adjusted odds ratios, 0.92 and 0.82, respectively) after adjustment by propensity score overlap weighting. However, in the group requiring no supplemental oxygen and the NIPPV group, all-cause inpatient mortality or discharge to hospice was not lower for patients who received dexamethasone. Greater benefit from dexamethasone use was seen for patients with more comorbidities.<\/p>\n “These results demonstrate that despite the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic over time, dexamethasone remains beneficial for these hospitalized patients in a clinical practice setting,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n