Contemporary use of adjunctive corticosteroids in tuberculous pericarditis.
There is controversy concerning the effectiveness of adjunctive corticosteroids in reducing mortality in tuberculous pericarditis. To assess the impact of this controversy on contemporary clinical practice, we studied the use of adjunctive corticosteroid in 185 consecutive patients with suspected pericardial tuberculosis from 15 hospitals in Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa. 109 (58.9%) patients received steroids with significant variation in corticosteroid use ranging from 0% to 93.5% per centre (P<0.0001). The presence of clinical features of HIV infection was the independent predictor of the non-use of adjunctive corticosteroids (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.20-0.75, P=0.005). We have demonstrated marked variation in the use of corticosteroids by practitioners, with nearly half of all patients not receiving this intervention. Taken together with the statistical uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of adjunctive steroids in tuberculous pericarditis, these observations probably reflect a state of genuine uncertainty or clinical equipoise among practitioners who care for patients with tuberculous pericarditis in sub-Saharan Africa. These data provide a justification for the establishment of adequately powered randomised clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of adjunctive corticosteroids in patients with tuberculous pericarditis.
Wiysonge
Charles S
CS
Ntsekhe
Mpiko
M
Gumedze
Freedom
F
Sliwa
Karen
K
Blackett
Kathleen Ngu
KN
Commerford
Patrick J
PJ
Volmink
Jimmy A
JA
Mayosi
Bongani M
BM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002163:Cameroon; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D010495:Pericarditis, Tuberculous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013019:South Africa; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids