Effect of high low dose of dexamethasone on clinical worsening in patients hospitalised with moderate or severe COVID-19 pneumonia: an open-label, randomised clinical trial.

Background: Low-dose dexamethasone demonstrated clinical improvement in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) needing oxygen therapy; however, evidence on the efficacy of high-dose dexamethasone is limited.

Methods: We performed a randomised, open-label, controlled trial involving hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia needing oxygen therapy. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive low-dose dexamethasone (6 mg once daily for 10 days) or high-dose dexamethasone (20 mg once daily for 5 days, followed by 10 mg once daily for an additional 5 days).