• Marco Confalonieri, Rosario Urbino, Alfredo Potena, Marco Piattella, Piercarlo Parigi, Giacomo Puccio, Rossana Della Porta, Carbone Giorgio, Francesco Blasi, Reba Umberger, and G Umberto Meduri.
• Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, 34100 Trieste, Italy. marco.confalonieri@aots.sanita.fvg.it
• Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2005 Feb 1; 171 (3): 242-8.

AbstractWe hypothesize that hydrocortisone infusion in severe community-acquired pneumonia attenuates systemic inflammation and leads to earlier resolution of pneumonia and a reduction in sepsis-related complications. In a multicenter trial, patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with severe community-acquired pneumonia received protocol-guided antibiotic treatment and were randomly assigned to hydrocortisone infusion or placebo. Hydrocortisone was given as an intravenous 200-mg bolus followed by infusion at a rate of 10 mg/hour for 7 days. Primary end-points of the study were improvement in Pa(O(2)):FI(O(2)) (Pa(O(2)):FI(O(2)) > 300 or >/= 100 increase from study entry) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) score by Study Day 8 and reduction in delayed septic shock. Forty-six patients entered the study. At study entry, the hydrocortisone group had lower Pa(O(2)):FI(O(2)), and higher chest radiograph score and C-reactive protein level. By Study Day 8, treated patients had, compared with control subjects, a significant improvement in Pa(O(2)):FI(O(2)) (p = 0.002) and chest radiograph score (p < 0.0001), and a significant reduction in C-reactive protein levels (p = 0.01), MODS score (p = 0.003), and delayed septic shock (p = 0.001). Hydrocortisone treatment was associated with a significant reduction in length of hospital stay (p = 0.03) and mortality (p = 0.009).

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