IntroductionThe benefit of corticosteroids as adjunctive treatment in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring hospital admission remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of corticosteroid treatment on outcomes in patients with CAP.MethodsThis was a prospective, double-blind and randomized study. All patients received treatment with ceftriaxone plus levofloxacin and methyl-prednisolone (MPDN) administered randomly and blindly as an initial bolus, followed by a tapering regimen, or placebo.ResultsOf the 56 patients included in the study, 28 (50%) were treated with concomitant corticosteroids. Patients included in the MPDN group show a more favourable evolution of the pO2/FiO2 ratio and faster decrease of fever, as well as greater radiological improvement at seven days. The time to resolution of morbidity was also significantly shorter in this group. Six patients met the criteria for mechanical ventilation (MV): five in the placebo group (22.7%) and one in the MPDN group (4.3%). The duration of MV was 13 days (interquartile range 7 to 26 days) for the placebo group and three days for the only case in the MPDN group. The differences did not reach statistical significance. Interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) showed a significantly quicker decrease after 24 h of treatment among patients treated with MPDN. No differences in mortality were found among groups.ConclusionsMPDN treatment, in combination with antibiotics, improves respiratory failure and accelerates the timing of clinical resolution of severe CAP needing hospital admission.Trial RegistrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trials Register, ISRCTN22426306.

In order to analyze the characteristics of the inflammatory response occurring in blood during pneumonia, we studied 38 patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia. Venous and arterial blood samples were collected at study entry and on days 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 after inclusion. The concentrations of proinflammatory (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-␣], interleukin 1␤ [IL-1␤], IL-6, and IL-8) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines were determined in order to detect differences related to the origin of the sample, the causative organism, the clinical variables, and the final outcome of the episode. Legionella pneumonia infections showed higher concentrations of TNF-␣, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. After 24 h, plasma IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 concentrations in pneumococcal episodes increased, whereas in the same time interval, cytokine concentrations in Legionella episodes markedly decreased. The characteristics of the inflammatory response in bacteremic pneumococcal episodes were different from those in nonbacteremic episodes, as indicated by the higher plasma cytokine concentrations in the former group. Finally, our analysis of cytokine concentrations with regard to the outcome-in terms of the need for intensive care unit admittance and/or mechanical ventilation as well as mortality-suggests that there is a direct relationship between the intensity of the inflammatory response measured in blood and the severity of the episode.

Adjunct corticosteroids for patients hospitalized with CAP reduce time to clinical stability and length of hospital stay by approximately 1 day without a significant effect on overall mortality but with an increased risk for CAP-related rehospitalization and hyperglycemia.