The Efficacy of Methylprednisolone in Clinical Manifestations, Inflammatory Biomarkers, and Antioxidant Changes in the COVID-19 Patients

Background: The application of methylprednisolone in ARDS patients has led to a sustained reduction in inflammatory plasma cytokines and chemokines and has recently been used in the treatment of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objectives: In this study, the effect of methylprednisolone on clinical symptoms and antioxidant changes of patients with COVID-19 has been investigated. Methods: In the present study, patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 who required hospitalization were entered into the study phase. Then, in addition to standard treatment, patients received methylprednisolone at a dose of 250 mg intravenously over three days. Necessary evaluations include analysis of arterial blood gases, pulse oximetry, monitoring of patient clinical signs, examination of inflammatory biomarkers, and also receiving 10 cc of peripheral blood samples to check for antioxidant changes, at the beginning of the study, after 24 hours, and 72 hours after receiving methylprednisolone was on the agenda. Results: Changes in fever, superoxide dismutase (SOD, Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST, the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP, malondialdehyde (MDA, Nitric oxide, Ferritin, and TNF-α before treatment and 72 hours after treatment were significantly different between the two stages (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The use of methylprednisolone improves the balance of antioxidants and immunological factors in patients with COVID-19 and thus improves some clinical indicators in these patients.