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Can prescribed steroids help treat symptoms of COVID-19?

Medical worker holding Coronavirus COVID-19 NP OP swab sample test kit, nasal collection equipment, CDC submitting form, reverse transcription RT-PCR DNA molecular nucleic acid diagnostic procedure covid tile coronavirus tile covid test testing tile / Getty Images Medical worker holding Coronavirus COVID-19 NP OP swab sample test kit, nasal collection equipment, CDC submitting form, reverse transcription RT-PCR DNA molecular nucleic acid diagnostic procedure covid tile coronavirus tile covid test testing tile / Getty Images

By Dr. James Haynes February 7, 2022 1 min read

Q. Can prescribed steroids help treat symptoms of COVID-19?

A. Both the World Health Organization and National Institutes of Health recommend against the use of steroids in non-critically ill patients with COVID-19. The recommendation is based largely on the Recovery Trial in which 1,535 patients with COVID-19 who did not require oxygen (classified as non-critically ill) were randomized to steroids or usual care. The 28-day mortality rate was 17.8% (89/501) in the steroid group and 14% in the usual care group (145/1034). Effectively the 28-day mortality rate was 19% higher in the steroid group versus those receiving usual care.

Dr. James Haynes is the Family Medicine Residency Program director at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine-Chattanooga/Erlanger Family Medicine residency program and is a member of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society.

Contributed photo / James Haynes