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Ciddi COVID-19 pnömonisinde yüksek doz steroid tedavisinin akciğer fibrozisi üzerinde etkinlikleri

Year 2026, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 147 - 155, 05.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1785790

Abstract

Amaç: Yüksek doz kortikosteroidler pulmoner fibrozis gelişimini önleyebilir, ancak hangi kortikosteroid tedavisinin daha iyi olduğu bilinmemektedir. Bu araştırma, şiddetli koronavirüs hastalığı 2019 (COVID-19) pnömonisi olan hastalarda yüksek doz steroid tedavisinin (deksametazon veya metilprednizolon) uzun süreli akciğer fibrozu gelişimi üzerindeki etkilerini araştırmayı amaçlamıştır.

Yöntemler: Yüksek doz steroid tedavisi alan ağır pnömonili COVID-19 hastaları iki gruba ayrıldı: metilprednizolon alanlar ve deksametazon alanlar. Her iki grubun solunum, karaciğer ve böbrek fonksiyonları, enflamatuar belirteçler, ferritin, C-reaktif protein (CRP), prokalsitonin, hematolojik testler, kan şekeri seviyeleri, entübasyon durumu, klinik iyileşme, taburcu oranları ve mortalite oranları gibi çeşitli parametreleri ölçüldü ve karşılaştırıldı.

Bulgular: İki grupun hastalarının kan parametreleri farklıydı. Deksametazon hastalarında açlık kan şekeri (FBG), kreatinin, aspartat transaminaz (AST), alanin transaminaz (ALT), laktat dehidrojenaz (LDH), D-Dimer ve CRP daha yüksekken, metilprednizolon hastalarında daha düşük ALT, beyaz kan hücreleri (WBC), nötrofiller, lenfositler ve trombositler görüldü. Hastaneye yatış ve tomografi sonuçlarında iyileşme görüldü. Metilprednizolon hastalarının %70,8'i iyileşme gösterirken, deksametazon hastalarının %58,5'i iyileşme gösterdi. Fark anlamlı değildi.

Sonuç: Kortikosteroidler ağır ciddi COVID-19 hastalarında mortaliteyi azaltmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre, metilprednizolon laboratuvar parametreleri üzerinde daha olumlu bir profil sağlamış ve böylece pulmoner arter hastalığı gelişiminde biraz daha iyi bir iyileşme göstermiştir.

Ethical Statement

Kurumumuz etik kurulundan 7 Şubat 2023 tarihinde, 2228 protokol numarasıyla onay alınmıştır. Tüm katılımcılardan bilgilendirilmiş onam formu alınmıştır.

Supporting Institution

yok

References

  • Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020; 323(13): 1239-1242. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2648
  • Esmaeilzadeh A, Elahi R. Immunobiology and immunotherapy of COVID-19: a clinically updated overview. J Cell Physiol. 2021;236(4): 2519-2543. doi:10.1002/jcp.30076
  • Koudstaal T, Funke-Chambour M, Kreuter M, Molyneaux PL, Wijsenbeek MS. Pulmonary fibrosis: from pathogenesis to clinical decision-making. Trends Mol Med. 2023;29(12):1076-1087. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2023.08.010.
  • WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group, Sterne JAC, Murthy S, et al. Association between administration of systemic corticosteroids and mortality among critically ill patients with COVID-19: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2020;324(13):1330-1341. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.17023
  • Horby P, Lim WS, Emberson JR, et al. RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:693-704. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2021436
  • T.R. Ministry of Health General Directorate of Public Health. COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 Infection) Severe pneumonia, ARDS, sepsis and septic shock management. November 7, 2020.
  • Bardakci MI, Ozturk EN, Ozkarafakili MA, et al. Evaluation of long‐term radiological findings, pulmonary functions, and health‐related quality of life in survivors of severe COVID‐19. Journal of Medical Virology. 2021;93(9):5574-5581. doi:10.1002/jmv.27128
  • Saad M, Elsayed M, El-Zoghby SM, et al. Methylprednisolone versus dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Respir J. 2024;18(2):145-155. doi:10.1111/crj.13745
  • Fadel R, Morrison AR, Vahia A, et al. Early short course corticosteroids in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;71:2114-2120. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa601
  • Wang Y, Jiang W, He Q, et al. Early, low-dose, and short-term corticosteroid treatment in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: single-center experience from Wuhan, China. medRxiv. 2020. doi:10.11 01/2020.04.06.20054890
  • Edalatifard M, Akhtari M, Salehi M, et al. Intravenous methylprednisolone pulse as a treatment for severe COVID-19. Eur Respir J. 2020;56:2002808. doi:10.1183/13993003.02808-2020
  • Villar J, Ferrando C, Martínez D, et al. Dexamethasone treatment for the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a multicentre, randomized controlled trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2020;8:267–276. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(19)30417-5
  • Zhang G, Su L, Wu W, et al. Efficacy of different doses of corticosteroids in treating severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Virology Journal. 2024;21:74. doi:10.1186/s12985-024-02345-7.
  • Villar J, Confalonieri M, Pastores SM, et al. Corticosteroid therapy in critically ill patients with severe respiratory infections: evidence from influenza and COVID-19. Crit Care. 2021;25:214. doi:10.1186/s13054-021-03650-1
  • Fernández-Cruz A, Ruiz-Antorán B, Muñoz-Gómez A, et al. Impact of glucocorticoids in COVID-19 outcomes. J Infect. 2021;82(4):e41-e43. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2020.09.015
  • Tomazini, BM, Maia IS, Cavalcanti AB, et al. Effect of dexamethasone on days alive and ventilator-free in patients with moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19: The CoDEX randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2020;324(13):1307-1316. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.17021
  • Sterne JAC, Murthy S, Diaz JV, et al. WHO rapid evidence appraisal for COVID-19 therapies (REACT) working group. association between administration of systemic corticosteroids and mortality among critically ill patients with covıd-19: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2020;324: 1330-1341. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.17023
  • Gentile F, Aimo A, Forfori F, et al. COVID-19 and risk of pulmonary fibrosis: the importance of planning ahead. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2020;27(13):1442-1446. doi:10.1177/2047487320932695.
  • abahati M, Ebrahimpour S, Khaleghnejad Tabari R, et al. Post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis and its predictive factors: a prospective study. Egypt J Radiol Nucl Med. 2021;52:248. doi:10.1186/s43055-021-00632-9
  • Myall KJ, Mukherjee B, Castanheira AM, et al. Persistent post-COVID-19 interstitial lung disease. Lancet Respir Med. 2021;9(2):202-12. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30556-8
  • Han X, Fan Y, Alwalid O, et al. Six-month follow-up chest CT findings after severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Radiology. 2021;299(1):E177–86. doi:10.1148/radiol.2021203153
  • Zhou Z, Qiu X, Wang L, et al. Corticosteroids and long-term outcomes in COVID-19 survivors: a prospective cohort study. Clin Respir J. 2023; 17(1):1-10. doi:10.1111/crj.13663
  • Esmaeilzadeh A, Sanaei Dashti A, Mortaz E. Methylprednisolone pulse therapy and prevention of post-COVID fibrosis. Eur Respir J. 2022;60(5): 2201248. doi:10.1183/13993003.01248-2022

Effectiveness of high-dose steroid treatment on pulmonary fibrosis in severe COVID-19 pneumonia

Year 2026, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 147 - 155, 05.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1785790

Abstract

Aims: Corticosteroid therapy has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy to mitigate pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of high-dose methylprednisolone (MP) and dexamethasone (DEX) on clinical and radiological outcomes.
Methods: In this retrospective study, hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia were categorized into three groups: MP, DEX, and control. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were analyzed, and radiological outcomes were assessed using baseline and follow-up chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with radiological improvement.
Results: Age and sex distributions differed among groups, and the control group consisted of older and predominantly male participants. Steroid-treated groups had longer hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stays, while mechanical ventilation rates were similar across groups. Laboratory parameters including levels of glucose, creatinine, alanine transferase (ALT), aspartate transferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer, and C-reactive protein (CRP) differed significantly among groups. Baseline CT findings more frequently showed extensive and severe fibrosis in the control group, whereas moderate involvement predominated in the DEX group. Follow-up CT scans revealed radiological improvements in at least two categories in 70.8% of MP, 58.5% of DEX, and 35.4% of control patients (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that both MP (OR=11.11; p<0.001) and DEX (OR=9.49; p<0.001) treatments, as well as baseline CT severity, were independent predictors of radiological improvement. Age, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation were not significantly associated with improvement.
Conclusion: High-dose corticosteroid (CS) therapy, particularly MP, was associated with significantly greater radiological improvement in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, independent of age, ICU admission, or use of mechanical ventilation. These findings suggest that CS may be effective in promoting pulmonary recovery and mitigating fibrotic progression in severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Ethical Statement

Our institution approved the ethics committee on February 7th, 2023, with protocol number 2228. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Supporting Institution

none

References

  • Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020; 323(13): 1239-1242. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2648
  • Esmaeilzadeh A, Elahi R. Immunobiology and immunotherapy of COVID-19: a clinically updated overview. J Cell Physiol. 2021;236(4): 2519-2543. doi:10.1002/jcp.30076
  • Koudstaal T, Funke-Chambour M, Kreuter M, Molyneaux PL, Wijsenbeek MS. Pulmonary fibrosis: from pathogenesis to clinical decision-making. Trends Mol Med. 2023;29(12):1076-1087. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2023.08.010.
  • WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group, Sterne JAC, Murthy S, et al. Association between administration of systemic corticosteroids and mortality among critically ill patients with COVID-19: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2020;324(13):1330-1341. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.17023
  • Horby P, Lim WS, Emberson JR, et al. RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:693-704. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2021436
  • T.R. Ministry of Health General Directorate of Public Health. COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 Infection) Severe pneumonia, ARDS, sepsis and septic shock management. November 7, 2020.
  • Bardakci MI, Ozturk EN, Ozkarafakili MA, et al. Evaluation of long‐term radiological findings, pulmonary functions, and health‐related quality of life in survivors of severe COVID‐19. Journal of Medical Virology. 2021;93(9):5574-5581. doi:10.1002/jmv.27128
  • Saad M, Elsayed M, El-Zoghby SM, et al. Methylprednisolone versus dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Respir J. 2024;18(2):145-155. doi:10.1111/crj.13745
  • Fadel R, Morrison AR, Vahia A, et al. Early short course corticosteroids in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;71:2114-2120. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa601
  • Wang Y, Jiang W, He Q, et al. Early, low-dose, and short-term corticosteroid treatment in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: single-center experience from Wuhan, China. medRxiv. 2020. doi:10.11 01/2020.04.06.20054890
  • Edalatifard M, Akhtari M, Salehi M, et al. Intravenous methylprednisolone pulse as a treatment for severe COVID-19. Eur Respir J. 2020;56:2002808. doi:10.1183/13993003.02808-2020
  • Villar J, Ferrando C, Martínez D, et al. Dexamethasone treatment for the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a multicentre, randomized controlled trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2020;8:267–276. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(19)30417-5
  • Zhang G, Su L, Wu W, et al. Efficacy of different doses of corticosteroids in treating severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Virology Journal. 2024;21:74. doi:10.1186/s12985-024-02345-7.
  • Villar J, Confalonieri M, Pastores SM, et al. Corticosteroid therapy in critically ill patients with severe respiratory infections: evidence from influenza and COVID-19. Crit Care. 2021;25:214. doi:10.1186/s13054-021-03650-1
  • Fernández-Cruz A, Ruiz-Antorán B, Muñoz-Gómez A, et al. Impact of glucocorticoids in COVID-19 outcomes. J Infect. 2021;82(4):e41-e43. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2020.09.015
  • Tomazini, BM, Maia IS, Cavalcanti AB, et al. Effect of dexamethasone on days alive and ventilator-free in patients with moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19: The CoDEX randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2020;324(13):1307-1316. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.17021
  • Sterne JAC, Murthy S, Diaz JV, et al. WHO rapid evidence appraisal for COVID-19 therapies (REACT) working group. association between administration of systemic corticosteroids and mortality among critically ill patients with covıd-19: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2020;324: 1330-1341. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.17023
  • Gentile F, Aimo A, Forfori F, et al. COVID-19 and risk of pulmonary fibrosis: the importance of planning ahead. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2020;27(13):1442-1446. doi:10.1177/2047487320932695.
  • abahati M, Ebrahimpour S, Khaleghnejad Tabari R, et al. Post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis and its predictive factors: a prospective study. Egypt J Radiol Nucl Med. 2021;52:248. doi:10.1186/s43055-021-00632-9
  • Myall KJ, Mukherjee B, Castanheira AM, et al. Persistent post-COVID-19 interstitial lung disease. Lancet Respir Med. 2021;9(2):202-12. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30556-8
  • Han X, Fan Y, Alwalid O, et al. Six-month follow-up chest CT findings after severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Radiology. 2021;299(1):E177–86. doi:10.1148/radiol.2021203153
  • Zhou Z, Qiu X, Wang L, et al. Corticosteroids and long-term outcomes in COVID-19 survivors: a prospective cohort study. Clin Respir J. 2023; 17(1):1-10. doi:10.1111/crj.13663
  • Esmaeilzadeh A, Sanaei Dashti A, Mortaz E. Methylprednisolone pulse therapy and prevention of post-COVID fibrosis. Eur Respir J. 2022;60(5): 2201248. doi:10.1183/13993003.01248-2022
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Chest Diseases
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Gülhan Ayhan Albayrak 0000-0003-1802-3844

Müfide Arzu Özkarafakılı 0000-0002-8345-4539

Submission Date September 17, 2025
Acceptance Date December 12, 2025
Publication Date January 5, 2026
Published in Issue Year 2026 Volume: 9 Issue: 1

Cite

AMA Ayhan Albayrak G, Özkarafakılı MA. Effectiveness of high-dose steroid treatment on pulmonary fibrosis in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. J Health Sci Med / JHSM. January 2026;9(1):147-155. doi:10.32322/jhsm.1785790

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