Systemic corticosteroids vs placebo
Reduction in overall or specific symptom duration · children with acute otitis media
1 finding from 1 review
- no estimate extracted0 studies · 0 participantsGRADE not reported
Findings
What do systematic reviews say?
32 questions · 36 findings · 7 reviews · Acute Respiratory Infections
No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 4 · 11.1%Very low 4 · 11.1%Low 3 · 8.3%Moderate 17 · 47.2%High 8 · 22.2%
Systemic corticosteroids vs placebo
Adverse effects · children with acute otitis media
1 finding from 1 review
- no estimate extracted0 studies · 0 participantsGRADE not reported
Intervention not reported
Antibiotic prescriptions (number of courses/person/year) **Corticosteroids not meta‐analysed · adults (> 18 years of age) with either COPD or recurrent acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis
The intervention may leads to higher antibiotic prescriptions (number of courses/person/year)… (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- Haemophilus influenzae oral vaccination for preventing acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis and chronic… 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes onlyRR 1.81 [1.35, 2.44]3 studies · 142 participantsLow
Corticosteroids vs no corticosteroid use
All‐cause mortality Up to 28 days following admission · individuals with influenza
It is very uncertain whether corticosteroid therapy changes number of deaths at 30 days following admission (30‐day mortality)a compared with no corticosteroid therapy (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- Corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of influenza 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes onlyOR 3.9 [2.31, 6.6]21 studies · 9536 participantsVery low
Corticosteroids vs no corticosteroid use
Incidence of admissions to the ICU · individuals with influenza
It is very uncertain whether corticosteroid therapy changes rate of admission to intensive care units compared with no corticosteroid therapy (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- Corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of influenza 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes onlyOR 5.13 [4.26, 6.17]1 study · 2141 participantsVery low
Corticosteroids vs no corticosteroid use
Number and nature of adverse events secondary to corticosteroid use (hospital‐acquired infection) · individuals with influenza
It is very uncertain whether corticosteroid therapy changes number and nature of adverse events secondary to corticosteroid use… compared with no corticosteroid therapy (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- Corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of influenza 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes onlyOR 2.74 [1.51, 4.95]7 studies · 6114 participantsVery low
Corticosteroids vs no corticosteroid use
Incidence of mechanical ventilation · individuals with influenza
It is very uncertain whether corticosteroid therapy changes proportion of participants requiring mechanical ventilation compared with no corticosteroid therapy (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- Corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of influenza 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes onlyno estimate extracted4 studies · 4364 participantsVery low
Intervention not reported
Mortality · acute bacterial meningitis
The intervention showed no clear difference in mortality (moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- RR 0.9 [0.8, 1.01]25 studies · 4121 participantsModerate
Intervention not reported
Severe hearing loss · acute bacterial meningitis
The intervention leads to lower severe hearing loss (high certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- RR 0.67 [0.51, 0.88]17 studies · 2437 participantsHigh
Intervention not reported
Any hearing loss · acute bacterial meningitis
The intervention leads to lower any hearing loss (high certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- RR 0.74 [0.63, 0.87]20 studies · 2785 participantsHigh
Intervention not reported
Short‐term neurological sequelae · acute bacterial meningitis
The intervention showed no clear difference in short‐term neurological sequelae (high certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- RR 0.83 [0.69, 1]13 studies · 1756 participantsHigh
Intervention not reported
Adverse events ‐ recurrent fever · acute bacterial meningitis
The intervention probably leads to higher adverse events ‐ recurrent fever (moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
- RR 1.27 [1.09, 1.47]12 studies · 1723 participantsModerate