Prolonged corticosteroid therapy and cytomegalovirus infection in patients with severe COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Systemic corticosteroid therapy is frequently used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, its maximum duration without secondary infections remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the utility of monitoring cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in patients with COVID-19 and estimate the maximum duration of systemic corticosteroid therapy without secondary infections. We included 59 patients with severe COVID-19 without CMV infection on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). All patients received systemic corticosteroid therapy under invasive mechanical ventilation, with examination for plasma CMV-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) levels during the ICU stay. We analyzed the correlations among patient characteristics, CMV infection, diseases, and patient mortality. CMV infections were

SUBMITTER: Yamamoto Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8661974 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature