THE USE OF METHYLPREDNISOLONE IN THE TREATMENT OF COVID-19: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen that causes COVID-19, and because it is a newly discovered viral infectious agent, it has proved to be a great challenge for modern science, raising doubts about its pathophysiology and the best form of therapeutic conduct. This research aims to identify what would be the ideal therapeutic scheme with methylprednisolone in COVID-19 patients, relating the dosage used during the treatment with the clinical evolution of the patient. The methodological approach of this work proposes a compilation of bibliographical research with a qualitative approach and descriptive character through an integrative review of the literature in the Virtual Health Library and PubMed databases. The descriptors used were “Covid-19” and “methylprednisolone”. Inclusion criteria were clinical trial articles, controlled and randomized test and observational study, published in English, Portuguese, Spanish, between 2020 and 2022. The methylprednisolone dosages used in the studies ranged from 40mg/day to 1g/day, good outcomes have been reported in hospitalized patients. High doses, in turn, demonstrated a greater risk factor for secondary outcomes, such as the need for mechanical ventilation and hyperglycemia, but it becomes a good option in case of unresponsiveness to treatment at lower doses. Thus, customizing the dose and duration of methylprednisolone according to the severity of the patient's disease assessed with demographic, clinical, and laboratory results may benefit mortality in patients with COVID-19.