Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid therapy in patients with cardiac arrest: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The clinical benefits of steroid therapy during cardiac arrest (CA) are unclear. Several recent clinical trials have shown that administering corticosteroid therapy during CA may improve patient outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether providing corticosteroids improves outcomes for patients following CA. We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and CNKI databases for randomized controlled trials comparing corticosteroid therapy to placebo during CA. Eleven relevant studies involving a total of 2273 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The statistical analysis showed that corticosteroid treatment during CA was significantly associated with an increased rate of sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.24 to 3.37, P