Pneumonia may be avoided due to steroids

The French have conducted some studies connected with pneumonia and steroids. According to the results of their researches, those who experience brain injuries can avoid complications related to pneumonia, if they are treated with the steroid hydrocortisone. These recent studies have manifested several benefits of steroids for therapeutic purposes.
Pneumonia which is caused by traumatic brain injury is a serious disease. Unfortunately, it occurs often. The Journal of the American Medical Association has noted that the percentage of pneumonia which appears because of traumas is 40-60 %. It is more spread among patients that have brain injuries.
Early post-traumatic pneumonia requires serious medical care and hospitalization. The risk of death is enhanced. Undoubtedly, prevention of this disease is clinical as well as economic issue.
Dr. Antoine Roquilly of the University of Nantes in France has stated that experimental and clinical data have demonstrated that usage of corticosteroids may lower the appearing as well as severity of pneumonia.
A research related to this condition was conducted 3 years from 2006 to 2009. 150 individuals that experienced different types of dangerous brain injuries were cured with the corticosteroid hydrocortisone. Other patients with this condition were treated just with sugar pills. Over half of individuals that were cured with sugar pills started to experience pneumonia over the month. As for those who were cured with the steroid hydrocortisone, the results were more encouraging. Less than 36 % of them got pneumonia during the same period of time. Thus, they didn’t need to be ventilated mechanically. Moreover, they avoided respiratory problems which troubled the patients who were cured with sugar pills.
Dr. Lisandro Irizarry of the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City has noted that the study is interesting but it requires further studies in order to be considered a part of standardized therapy.
Actually, any individual that has experienced a brain injury may confront the problem, when he/she doesn’t have ability to engage in usual oral hygiene and routine expectorating of mucus. It can result in great amounts of bacteria. It enhances the risk related to pneumonia. So, when a body experiences such stress, as a trauma, some hormones, including hydrocortisone, must be involved in healing. But this process can be suppressed by trauma. That’s why such person needs an external supplement of steroids for a short period of time in order to increase healing responses of the body.
Although these researches have proven usefulness of the steroid hydrocortisone for individuals with brain injuries, some more researches have to be conducted. It shows that steroids have capacity to save lives of people in several situations.