The negative effect of initial high-dose methylprednisolone and tapering regimen for acute respiratory distress syndrome: a retrospective propensity matched cohort study

Table 1 Characteristics of patients in the study

Variables	High-dose group	Low-dose group	P value
Variables	(n = 21)	(n = 165)	P value
Age, years	70 (64–80)	77 (69–83)	0.135
Sex, male, n (%)	11 (47.8)	105 (63.6)	0.316
Cause of ARDS pulmonary, n (%)	15 (65.2)	101 (61.2)	0.363
Cause of ARDS infection, n (%)	16 (69.6)	111 (67.3)	0.408
PaO₂/FIO₂ ratio	107.0 (60.1–140.4)	106.8 (77.2–153.6)	0.179
white blood cells (/mm³)	12500 (8250–15200)	9700 (5300–15150)	0.538
CRP (mg/dL)	8.90 (5.33–21.02)	16.1. (9.59–25.00)	0.031
LDH (IU/L)	478.0 (326.5–699.5)	324.0 (250.0–435.0)	0.011
Platelets (×10⁴/mm³)	17.0 (9.6–29.0)	18.4 (11.6–25.1)	0.664
Albumin (g/dL)	2.8 (2.6–3.2)	2.9 (2.4–3.2)	0.634
PEEP (cmH₂O)	8.0 (7.0–10.0)	8.0 (8.0–12.0)	0.022
PIP (cmH₂O)^a	18.0 (10.0–25.0)	22.0 (18.0–25.0)	0.109
Tidal volume (mL)^b	450.0 (357.5–468.8)	420.0 (350.0–490.0)	0.520
ARDS severity mild/moderate/severe	0/11/10	15/78/72	0.354
HRCT score	257.0 (209.1–290.8)	209.9 (183.4–283.0)	0.214
APACHE II score	19.0 (16.0–25.5)	22.0 (18.0–25.0)	0.240
SOFA score	6.0 (5.5–9.5)	7.0 (5.0–10.0)	0.494
McCabe classification category 1/2/3	19/1/1	145/10/10	0.942

Data are presented as median (IQR), unless otherwise stated. ARDS acute respiratory distress syndrome, PaO ₂ arterial oxygen tension, FiO ₂ fraction of inspired oxygen, CRP C-reactive protein, LDH lactate dehydrogenase, ALB serum albumin, PEEP positive end-expiratory pressure, PIP peak inspiratory pressure, CT computed tomography, APACHE II Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, HRCT high-resolution computed tomography
^aHigh-dose group (n = 18), low-dose group (n = 122)
^bHigh-dose group (n = 14), low-dose group (n = 119)

ISSN: 1364-8535