Corticosteroids are not effective when it comes to enhancing patient survival with late stage ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome), as per new results coming from the ARDS Clinical Research Network of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The study is considered to be the first multi-center randomized clinical trial for understanding the worth of effects of moderate doses of steroids in ARDS patients when the relevant treatment is started 7 days or more after the condition onset.

From News-Medical.Net:

“These findings provide important information to help us determine the safest and most effective ways to care for patients with this devastating condition,” said NHLBI Director Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD. “Whether and how to use steroids to treat ARDS patients have been important questions for years. We now have better evidence of the effect of this treatment to help clinicians and patients make more informed decisions.”

There is no specific drug treatment for ARDS. The focus of care is to get enough oxygen into the blood until the lungs are functioning again. Patients are placed in the intensive care unit and supported with mechanical ventilators and fluids. Some patients recover and can breathe on their own within a week or so. Others might need to be on mechanical support to help with breathing for longer periods of time, but they can develop long-term complications from ventilator use or other treatments.

It was previously believed that moderate doses of steroids help in improving lung function and increase patient’s survival rate. But, a larger randomized clinical trial suggests that steroids do not prolong survival when administered to late-stage ARDS and doctors must exercise a higher sense of caution while treated with steroids.