The proper use of corticosteroids for 2019-nCov pneumonia: towards promising results?

The debate about the role of the use of corticosteroids (CS) as treatment support in patients with pneumonia due to novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is currently ongoing with several different opinion and a substantial lack of evidence. About this, we read with great interest the letter by Fang et al. recently published in this journal 1. Generalising available data about other viral or bacterial pneumonia is not entirely applicable to nCoV infection and a detailed examination is requested. A previous reported summary of clinical evidence about the role of CS in SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and Influenza virus showed all negative effects related to CS administration: delayed clearance of viral RNA from respiratory tract or blood, onset of psychosis, diabetes, avascular necrosis, increased mortality 2.
Source: Journal of Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research