Corticosteroids are largely recommended in patients with severe COVID-19. However, evidence to support high-dose methylprednisolone (MP) pulses is not as robust as that demonstrated for low-dose dexamethasone (DXM) in the RECOVERY trial. This is a retrospective cohort study on severe, non-critically ill patients with COVID-19, comparing 3-day MP pulses ≥ 100 mg/day vs. DXM 6 mg/day for 10 days. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and the secondary outcomes were need of intensive care unit (ICU) admission or invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Propensity-score matching (PSM) analysis was applied. From March 2020 to April 2021, a total of 2,284 patients were admitted to our hospital due to severe, non-critically ill COVID-19, and of these, 189 (8.3%) were treated with MP, and 493 (21.6%) with DXM. The results showed that patients receiving MP showed higher in-hospital mortality (31.2% vs. 17.8%, p < 0.001), need of ICU admission (29.1% vs. 20.5%, p = 0.017), need of IMV (25.9% vs. 13.8, p < 0.001), and median hospital length of stay (14 days vs. 11 days, p < 0.001). Our results suggest that treatment with low-dose DXM for 10 days is superior to 3 days of high-dose MP pulses in preventing in-hospital mortality and need for ICU admission or IMV in severe, non-critically ill patients with COVID-19.

Acute graft pyelonephritis (AGP) is the leading cause of bloodstream infection in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. The prevalence of urinary tract infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacilli is increasing. This 14-year prospective observational study sought to determine the clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of AGP with bacteremia due to MDR Gram-negative bacilli. Overall, 278 episodes of AGP with bacteremia due to MDR Gram-negative and non-MDR Gram-negative bacilli were identified and compared in 214 KT recipients; MDR Gram-negative bacilli were the cause in 28.4%. Overall 30-day mortality was low (1.1%). Risk factors independently associated with AGP due to MDR Gram-negative bacilli were male sex (OR 3.08; 95%CI 1.60–5.93), previous episode of bacteremic AGP (OR 2.11, 95%CI 1.09–4.09), prior antibiotic therapy in the preceding month (OR 2.47, 95%CI 1.33–4.57), and nosocomial acquisition (OR 2.03, 95%CI 1.14–3.62). Forty-three percent of MDR Gram-negative episodes received inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy. The risk factors identified in this study may help physicians when selecting empirical antibiotic treatment for AGP. Previous antibiotic use was the main modifiable factor. Its presence highlights the importance of avoiding unnecessary antibiotics in order to bring down the high rates of MDR Gram-negative bacilli infections in this population.