Over 20 million Americans are affected with asthma. Many will require some type of surgical procedure during which their asthma management should be optimized. Preoperative assessment of asthma should include a specialized history and physical as well as pulmonary function testing. In many asthmatic patients, treatment with systemic corticosteroids and bronchodilators is indicated to prevent th...

OBJECTIVE To determine if systemic corticosteroid therapy is associated with improved outcomes for children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS In this multicenter, retrospective cohort study we used data from 36 children's hospitals for children aged 1 to 18 years with CAP. Main outcome measures were length of stay (LOS), readmission, and total hospitalization cost....

Methods and results We have studied the Cochrane systematic reviews addressing the systemic use of corticosteroids in: • acute bacterial meningitis (to examine the effect versus placebo on mortality, hearing loss and neurological sequelae in participants of all ages); 24 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling 4041 patients; • tuberculous meningitis (to examine the effect on death or disa...

Lichen planus (LP) is a common pruritic, inflammatory disease that may involve the skin, mucous membranes, nails, and hair follicles.Topical treatments are associated with a good response in limited lesions but in patients with widespread disease, these treatments are usually unsatisfactory. Systemic corticosteroids have long been the treatment of choice for generalized LP but their use is limi...

Background and purpose - Immediate postoperative pain management offered in knee arthroplasty is suboptimal in up to one-third of patients resulting in high opiate consumption and delayed discharge. In this meta-analysis we investigate the analgesic effect and safety of perioperative adjuvant corticosteroids in knee arthroplasty. Methods - Databases Medline, Embase, and Central were searched fo...