Effectiveness of Corticosteroids on Persistent Inflammation, Immunosuppression, and Catabolism Syndrome in Patients with Septic Shock: A Retrospective Claims Database Study

BackgroundPersistent inflammation, immunosuppression, and catabolism syndrome (PICS) that develops following critical illness is one of the most challenging issues in critical care medicine. While corticosteroids are widely used in septic shock, their impact on PICS remains unclear. While corticosteroids may reduce inflammation, they potentially increase infection risk and affect muscle function.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzed 3186 patients with septic shock from a Japanese administrative claims database, which was supplied by Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd (Tokyo, Japan). Using propensity score matching, we compared outcomes between patients who received corticosteroids within the first two days of admission (steroid group) and those who did not (control group). The primary outcome was the incidence of PICS on day 28, defined as meeting at least two of the following criteria: C-reactive protein >2.0 mg/dL, albumin <3.0 g/dL, and lymphocyte count <800/μL.ResultsA total of 4054 patients were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. After the exclusion of 868 patients, 3186 eligible patients (906 in the steroid group and 2280 in the control group) were included in the propensity score analysis. After matching, there was no significant difference in the incidence of PICS on day 28 between the steroid and control groups (16.7% vs 13.6%; risk difference, 2.22%; 95% CI, -1.89% to 6.34%; P = 0.095). Additionally, no significant differences were observed in 28-day mortality (15.2% vs 15.2%), in-hospital mortality, PICS on day 14, the Barthel Index at discharge or the percentage of patients meeting PICS criteria for each component on day 14 and day 28.ConclusionsThe administration of corticosteroids in patients with septic shock was not associated with the incidence of PICS.