Why the study?
Does intravenous corticosteroid therapy compared to oral corticosteroids affect hospital admission or relapse in patients with acute asthma?
Population
1,847 patients, aged 18–54 years, with acute asthma enrolled across 64 emergency departments
Comparison
Intravenous (IV) corticosteroids vs Oral corticosteroids
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
48 hours
Authors
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IV corticosteroid use should not yet alter acute asthma practice; demonstrates intractable confounding by severity, underscoring need for RCTs.
Does intravenous corticosteroid therapy compared to oral corticosteroids affect hospital admission or relapse in patients with acute asthma?
This study demonstrates that observational comparisons of treatments for acute asthma are subject to intractable confounding by severity, highlighting the necessity of randomized trials for such clinical questions.
Clark et al. (2005) studied this question.
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