JOURNAL ARTICLE
RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Low-dose hydrocortisone in pediatric septic shock: an exploratory study in a third world setting.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of low-dose intravenous hydrocortisone therapy in the management of pediatric septic shock with respect to the time taken for shock reversal and requirement of inotropes.

DESIGN: Open label randomized pilot study.

SETTING: Pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care pediatric center in a third world country.

PATIENTS: Thirty-eight children, 2 months-12 yrs of age, with septic shock unresponsive to fluid therapy alone.

INTERVENTION: Intravenous hydrocortisone 5 mg/kg/day in four divided doses followed by half the dose for a total duration of 7 days or normal saline (similar amount in a similar manner) for the same duration.

RESULTS: There was a trend toward earlier reversal of shock (median 49.5 vs. 70 hrs, p = 0.65, Mann-Whitney U test) and lower inotropes requirement (median {lsqb;10th-90th centile{rsqb; inotropes score: 20 {lsqb;15-60{rsqb; vs. 50 {lsqb;20-80{rsqb;, p = 0.15) in the hydrocortisone-treated patients as compared with controls, although the difference was not statistically significant. Mortality rate was similar in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data, although, inconclusive favor the need for a study with a larger sample size to clearly define role of low-dose hydrocortisone in pediatric septic shock in developing countries, while taking in consideration effect of malnutrition, delayed presentations, and their interactions with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app