The Effectiveness of Mini-Pulse Methylprednisolone in the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the effect of mini-pulse methylprednisolone in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in the intensive care units (ICU).

Methods

This is a single-blind parallel non-randomized clinical trial that will be carried out on 60 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and conducted between February 2020 and December 2020 in Ardabil City Hospital, Ardabil, Iran. The t-test and chi-square test were used to compare the results of the two groups. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software.

Results

The mean (±SD) age of patients was 57.53 ± 13.71 years. Thirty-five patients (58.3%) were male and 25 (14.7%) were female. Twenty-eight patients had fever. During admission, the mean (±SD) of the oxygen saturation was 80.73 ± 8.31. No significant relationship was observed between the study variables in the two groups at baseline.

Conclusion

The results of the present study showed that in patients treated with methylprednisolone, blood oxygen saturation increased and heart rate and breathing rate decreased significantly. Also, mini-pulse treatment with methylprednisolone significantly reduced the number of days of hospitalization and the incidence of mortality.