DefinePK

Abstract

Objective: To determine the adjunctive corticosteroid therapy in severe community acquired pneumonia (SCAP) at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at department of Pulmonology, Gujranwala Medical College / DHQ Gujranwala from 07-11-2024 to 06-05-2025. Sixty patients admitted in the department of pulmonologywere selected and divided into two groups. Group-A received only antimicrobial therapy and group-S received antimicrobial and 40?mg/day prednisone for 7 days as adjunctive therapy. Baseline data was recorded. Duration of antibiotics and hospital stay were also documented. Re-evaluation was done at seventh day of treatment and efficacy was assessed.Data was analyzed through SPSS version 25. Student t-test, chi square test or Fisher’s Exact test were applied. P ?0.05 was taken as statistically significant.
Results: Duration of antibiotics therapy and hospitalization were significantly shorter in the steroid group (10.60±1.59 vs. 14.83±3.79 days, p<0.001; 11.43±2.03 days vs. 13.93±3.77 days, p=0.003, respectively). The outcome was better in the steroids group as compared to the antibiotics alone group (70% vs. 43.3%, p= 0.037).
Conclusion: The use of corticosteroids has a beneficial role in improving the outcome and reducing the hospital stay among the elderly patients of severe community acquired pneumonia.