The Gist: For many indications, such as croup, asthma, and anaphylaxis, oral steroids are equally as effective and work as quickly as intravenous steroids and the effective doses are likely lower than we frequently give. Check out this free steroid converter to prevent preposterously high doses of methylprednisolone or dexamethasone.
The case: A 13 month old presents to the ED with a harsh, barky cough. Parents report a few days of prodromal upper respiratory symptoms but the child has good oral intake and vital signs. The child is playful, with a snotty nose and intermittent stridor. Given the clinical diagnosis of croup, how much dexamethasone do you give? These bits of Free Open Access Medical education (FOAM) served as the impetus behind the development of my steroid in croup practice: EM PEM podcast, HQMedEd video, Emergency Medicine Literature of Note post
Croup (laryngotracheobronchitis)- A single dose of steroids in croup is the mainstay of treatment in mild to moderate disease as they decrease return visits (RR 0.5, 95%CI 0.3-0.7) and hospital length of stay compared with placebo [1]. The number needed to treat (NNT) is 11 in the ED population (or 5 for improvement in a clinical score). The historically touted dose of dexamethasone is 0.6mg/kg orally as this is the most studied dose; however, lower doses have demonstrated non-inferiority and have even made it into textbook recommendations [2,3]. The 0.6mg/kg dose of dexamethasone is equivalent to ~3.75mg/kg of prednisone - overkill for this disease process?
Asthma - Glucocorticoids, given within the first hour of presentation to the ED, may reduce need for hospitalization with a NNT of 8 to prevent one hospital admission and, in pediatrics, the length of stay [8]. The literature demonstrates that IV steroids have no superiority over the oral route and the American Thoracic Society recommends oral steroids [8,9]. In fact, Rosen's strongly emphasizes the preference of the oral route, unless the patient is vomiting, in extremis, or has gastrointestinal malabsorption [7]. Prednisone can be swallowed quickly between/during albuterol treatments.
Anaphylaxis - The treatment for anaphylaxis is intramuscular epinephrine [2,7,11]. While glucocorticoids have become part of the standard treatment in anaphylaxis, it's crucial to remember that this therapy is classified as an "adjunct," and is not a treatment for acute anaphylaxis. Steroids may play a role in resolving the cutaneous manifestations of urticaria and may prevent biphasic or refractory anaphylaxis; however, this is not a proven treatment modality and this intervention takes hours to work. Furthermore, we historically do not give epinephrine readily enough in anaphylaxis and emphasis on second and third-line agents may detract from actually treating anaphylaxis.
The core emergency medicine texts, Rosen's and Tintinalli's, both recommend IV methylprednisolone in anaphylaxis, followed by a short burst of prednisone for 3-5 days but these recommendations do not come with supporting citations [2,7]. A Cochrane Review turned up no evidence on this therapeutic endeavor [12]. The pathophysiologic argument for IV steroids exists in the notion that patients may have impaired absorption secondary to shunting of blood away from the GI tract. So, what's the answer?
The case: A 13 month old presents to the ED with a harsh, barky cough. Parents report a few days of prodromal upper respiratory symptoms but the child has good oral intake and vital signs. The child is playful, with a snotty nose and intermittent stridor. Given the clinical diagnosis of croup, how much dexamethasone do you give? These bits of Free Open Access Medical education (FOAM) served as the impetus behind the development of my steroid in croup practice: EM PEM podcast, HQMedEd video, Emergency Medicine Literature of Note post
Croup (laryngotracheobronchitis)- A single dose of steroids in croup is the mainstay of treatment in mild to moderate disease as they decrease return visits (RR 0.5, 95%CI 0.3-0.7) and hospital length of stay compared with placebo [1]. The number needed to treat (NNT) is 11 in the ED population (or 5 for improvement in a clinical score). The historically touted dose of dexamethasone is 0.6mg/kg orally as this is the most studied dose; however, lower doses have demonstrated non-inferiority and have even made it into textbook recommendations [2,3]. The 0.6mg/kg dose of dexamethasone is equivalent to ~3.75mg/kg of prednisone - overkill for this disease process?
- Dexamethasone 0.15mg/kg PO (can give IV solution orally)
A Cochrane Review demonstrates no significant difference in return visits between "high dose dexamethasone" (0.6mg/kg) and 0.15mg/kg with a risk ratio of 1.04 (95%CI 0.62-1.75) [1]. Hospitals, particularly in Australia where the bulk of the steroid in croup literature originates, have used 0.15mg/kg routinely for the past 18 years, and observational data demonstrates a decline in admissions [3,4].
Limitations - the studies are all pretty small and are not powered to detect small differences. Are these small differences clinically significant? Croup also tends to be a self-limiting disease so these studies may be far underpowered to capture rare complications. Furthermore, many of the studies only look at mild to moderate croup so selection bias may demonstrate. Yet Fifoot et al excluded this group (Westley score <2) and still found that 0.15mg/kg was as efficacious as larger doses. The ToPDog study is pending in Australia to demonstrate the effective dose on a larger scale.
Limitations - the studies are all pretty small and are not powered to detect small differences. Are these small differences clinically significant? Croup also tends to be a self-limiting disease so these studies may be far underpowered to capture rare complications. Furthermore, many of the studies only look at mild to moderate croup so selection bias may demonstrate. Yet Fifoot et al excluded this group (Westley score <2) and still found that 0.15mg/kg was as efficacious as larger doses. The ToPDog study is pending in Australia to demonstrate the effective dose on a larger scale.
Asthma - Glucocorticoids, given within the first hour of presentation to the ED, may reduce need for hospitalization with a NNT of 8 to prevent one hospital admission and, in pediatrics, the length of stay [8]. The literature demonstrates that IV steroids have no superiority over the oral route and the American Thoracic Society recommends oral steroids [8,9]. In fact, Rosen's strongly emphasizes the preference of the oral route, unless the patient is vomiting, in extremis, or has gastrointestinal malabsorption [7]. Prednisone can be swallowed quickly between/during albuterol treatments.
- Pediatrics: Prednisone 1-2 mg/kg PO
- Dexamethasone phosphate 0.6 mg/kg PO
- Adults: Prednisone 40-80 mg/day PO
- Unable to take PO? Methylprednisolone is weight based, at 1mg/kg, not the standard 125 mg given routinely in the ED, which is equivalent to approximately 156 mg of prednisone.
COPD - no effect on hospitalizaiton rate, but steroids decrease return visits [2].
- Prednisone orally, No benefit to doses higher than 60 mg[2].
- 5 days equivalent to longer courses [10].
The core emergency medicine texts, Rosen's and Tintinalli's, both recommend IV methylprednisolone in anaphylaxis, followed by a short burst of prednisone for 3-5 days but these recommendations do not come with supporting citations [2,7]. A Cochrane Review turned up no evidence on this therapeutic endeavor [12]. The pathophysiologic argument for IV steroids exists in the notion that patients may have impaired absorption secondary to shunting of blood away from the GI tract. So, what's the answer?
- Shock/sick patients - intravenous steroids such as hydrocortisone or methylprednisolone are likely the right answer.
- The rest of the anaphylaxis patients that are able to swallow - oral prednisone 40-60 mg/day for 3-5 days.
References:
1. Russell KF, Liang Y, O’Gorman K, Johnson DW, Klassen TP. Glucocorticoids for croup. Cochrane database Syst. Rev. 2011;(1):CD001955.
2. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 7th ed, 2011. p509, 515, 789-790, 805
3. Geelhoed GC, Macdonald WB SOPediatr Oral dexamethasone in the treatment of croup: 0.15 mg/kg versus 0.3 mg/kg versus 0.6 mg/kg. Pulmonol. 1995;20(6):362.
4. Dobrovoljac M, Geelhoed GC. 27 Years of Croup: an Update Highlighting the Effectiveness of 0.15 Mg/Kg of Dexamethasone. Emerg. Med. Australas. 2009;21(4):309–14.
5. Geelhoed GC, Turner J, Macdonald WB. Efficacy of a small single dose of oral dexamethasone for outpatient croup: a double blind placebo controlled clinical trial. BMJ. 1996;313(7050):140–2.
6. Fifoot Aa, Ting JY. Comparison between single-dose oral prednisolone and oral dexamethasone in the treatment of croup: a randomized, double-blinded clinical trial. Emerg.Med.Australas. 2007;19(1):51–8.
7. Rosen's Emergency Medicine. 7th ed, 2009. p 897.
8. Bh R, Spooner C, Ducharme F, Bretzlaff J, Bota G. Corticosteroids for preventing relapse following acute exacerbations of asthma ( Review ). 2008;(4).
9. Schatz M, Kazzi A, et al. Joint Task Force Report: Supplemental Recommendations for the Management and Follow-up of Asthma Exacerbations. Proc Am Thorac Soc Vol 6. pp 353–356, 2009
10. Leuppi JD, Schuetz P, Bingisser R, Bodmer M,et al. Short-term vs conventional glucocorticoid therapy in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the REDUCE randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2013 Jun 5;309(21):2223-31.
11. Gaeta TJ, Clark S, Pelletier AJ, Camargo CA. National study of US emergency department visits for acute allergic reactions, 1993 to 2004.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2007 Apr;98(4):360-5.
11. Gaeta TJ, Clark S, Pelletier AJ, Camargo CA. National study of US emergency department visits for acute allergic reactions, 1993 to 2004.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2007 Apr;98(4):360-5.
12. Kjl C, Fer S, Sheikh A. Glucocorticoids for the treatment of anaphylaxis ( Review ). 2012;(8).
13. Benkelfat R, Gouin S, Larose G, Bailey B. Medication errors in the management of anaphylaxis in a pediatric emergency department. J Emerg Med. 2013 Sep;45(3):419-25.
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