In a study conducted by Dr. Rebecca C. Britt and colleagues of the Eastern Virginia Medical School and in University of Wisconsin, patients in intensive care who are treated with corticosteroids have an increased infection rate, longer ICU stays, spend more time on ventilators, and may be at greater risk of death.

In a case-control study made by the group, they compared 100 patients who received corticosteroids in a burn-trauma ICU, and they found that patients who received the drugs stayed a week longer in the ICU, remained on ventilators five days longer, and had higher rates of pneumonia, bacteremia, and urinary tract infections.

The researchers concluded that the literature does not provide guidance for steroid use in relative adrenal insufficiency. They also added that infectious risks of steroids need to be carefully considered before initiation of therapy.

Tags: corticosteroids, Dr. Rebecca Britt, ICU, infection, steroids

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Researchers have taken up a study stating that unlike the anabolic steroids, there is another kind of steroids known as corticosteroids which are used to decrease the rate of inflammation caused by a bacterial infection. Everybody stays under the impression that steroids are very harmful and ineffective but after studying its positive results to treat pneumonia proved that it is no more an unsafe option to use.

Scientists have found that using a combination of steroids and antibiotics cured pneumonia to a very high level as compared to the one treated only with antibiotics. there was an immense reduction in the inflammation of lungs when studied on a mice infected with a bacterial pneumonia.

Though antimicrobials still remain the primary therapy to cure pneumonia like diseases, still after lot of studies on steroids scientists found the importance of using them as a inflammatory reduction element in the treatment.

Also it was found that that this combination is very effective to patients also suffering from asthma. Although Dr. Hardy, one of the scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center says it’s too early to decide whether to recommend this since still much work needs to be done by clinical trials.

Tags: antibiotic, antimicrobials, corticosteroids, infection, pneumonia

Posted in Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids