Effect of methylprednisolone in severe and critical COVID-19: Analysis of 102 cases

Table 1 Baseline clinical characteristics

	Control group	Treatment group	P value
Male	19 (57.6%)	34 (49.3%)	0.120
Critically ill	3 (9.1%)	15 (21.7%)	0.117
Hypertension	15 (45.5%)	31 (44.9%)	0.170
Diabetes	16 (48.5%)	12 (17.4%)	0.145
Renal insufficiency	5 (15.2%)	7 (10.1%)	0.387
CHD	2 (6.1%)	10 (14.5%)	0.091
Aspartic acid aminotransferase (U/L)	27 (20, 40)	35 (26, 54)	0.043
Alanine aminotransferase (U/L)	26 (19, 44)	36 (20, 57)	0.164
Alkaline phosphatase (U/L)	47 (40, 66)	55 (43, 74)	0.157
Lactate dehydrogenase (U/L)	253 (183, 379)	295 (213, 534)	0.025
Glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L)	25 (18, 32)	33 (21, 56)	0.072
Total bilirubin (μmol/L)	9.6 (6.7, 13.2)	11.1 (7.7, 16.3)	0.110
Albumin (g/L)	32.2 (29.7, 35.2)	29.8 (27.9, 33.8)	0.146
Globulin (g/L)	28.9 (26, 32.1)	31.4 (28.2, 35.9)	0.010
Prealbumin (mg/L)	142.6 (113.7, 175.8)	136.6 (85.5, 209.8)	0.709
Total bile acid (μmol/L)	2.2 (1.7, 3.8)	2.4 (1.6, 4.4)	0.722
Urea nitrogen (mmol/L)	4.25 (3.3, 6.35)	4.84 (3.72, 7.75)	0.244
Creatinine (μmol/L)	73.5 (62.2, 90.9)	69.55 (58.2, 89.55)	0.419
Uric acid (μmol/L)	226 (175.1, 287.6)	233.2 (177.3, 329.2)	0.622
Calcium (mmol/L)	1.95 (1.87, 2)	1.91 (1.81, 2)	0.122
Creatine kinase (U/L)	104.5 (45.5, 196)	85.5 (54, 197)	0.747
CKMB (U/L)	13 (9.5, 18.5)	13 (10, 19)	0.699
Alpha hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (U/L)	205 (149, 310.5)	248 (180, 449)	0.020
Total carbon dioxide (mmol/L)	22.6 (20.9, 27.9)	24 (21.4, 26.7)	0.589
C-reactive protein (mg/L)	20.98 (4, 40.95)	34.08 (8.47, 81.4)	0.140
Cystatin (mg/L)	0.78 (0.66, 0.92)	0.88 (0.75, 1.03)	0.098
Red blood cells (T/L)	4.05 (3.57, 4.59)	4.1 (3.79, 4.55)	0.335
Hemoglobin (g/L)	122 (105, 138)	129.5 (120, 140)	0.242
Platelets (g/L)	198 (143, 291)	197 (139, 258)	0.667
Lymphocytes (g/L)	0.92 (0.75, 1.3)	0.87 (0.61, 1.3)	0.658
Monocytes (g/L)	0.38 (0.33, 0.48)	0.36 (0.25, 0.5)	0.562
Erythrocyte distribution width	12.5 (11.9, 12.9)	12.5 (12.1, 13.1)	0.660

Treatment group: Methylprednisolone use at 0.75-1.5 mg/kg/d, for less than 14 d. Control group: Without using methylprednisolone. CHD: Coronary heart disease; CKMB: Creatine kinase isoenzyme.

Table 2 COX regression analysis after adjustment

	B	SE	Wald	P value	95%CI
Aspartic acid aminotransferase	0.010	0.007	1.930	0.165	0.996, 1.024
Lactate dehydrogenase	0.006	0.005	1.291	0.256	0.996, 1.015
Globulin	-0.007	0.031	0.050	0.823	0.935, 1.055
Alpha hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase	-0.001	0.006	0.024	0.877	0.988, 1.010
Methylprednisolone use	-0.579	0.437	1.754	0.185	0.238, 1.320