Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · May 2021
Meta AnalysisCorticosteroids in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 ARDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Corticosteroids are now recommended for patients with severe COVID-19 including those with COVID-related ARDS. This has generated renewed interest regarding whether corticosteroids should be used in non-COVID ARDS as well. The objective of this study was to summarize all RCTs examining the use of corticosteroids in ARDS. ⋯ The use of corticosteroids probably reduces mortality in patients with ARDS. This effect was consistent between patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 ARDS, corticosteroid types, and dosage.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2021
Gender differences in the provision of intensive care: a Bayesian approach.
It is currently unclear whether management and outcomes of critically ill patients differ between men and women. We sought to assess the influence of age, sex and diagnoses on the probability of intensive care provision in critically ill cardio- and neurovascular patients in a large nationwide cohort in Switzerland. ⋯ In the care of the critically ill, our study suggests that women are less likely to receive ICU treatment regardless of disease severity. Underuse of ICU care was most prominent in younger women < 45 years. Although our study has several limitations that are imposed by the limited data available from the registries, our findings suggest that current ICU triage algorithms could benefit from careful reassessment. Further, and ideally prospective, studies are needed to confirm our findings.