Published in:
01-06-2010 | Correspondence
Corticosteroids for H1N1 associated acute lung injury: is it just wishful thinking?
Authors:
Jorge I. F. Salluh, Pedro Póvoa
Published in:
Intensive Care Medicine
|
Issue 6/2010
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Excerpt
Dear editor: When challenged by a potentially life-threatening infection, intensivists are frequently inclined to prescribe adjunctive therapies with so called immunomodulating effects. However, the story of anti-inflammatory therapies in severe infections has been so far a story of disenchantment. Most of it may be ascribed to an incomplete knowledge of immune and acute phase responses. Corticosteroids have recently been caught in the midst of a huge controversy regarding their indication for severe sepsis. Despite clear evidence of anti-inflammatory effects and of clinical benefit in small single center trials, the alleged survival benefits were not subsequently confirmed by the CORTICUS study. …