title: Do corticosteroids play a role in the management of traumatic brain injury?
abstract: Neuroprotective strategies for the medical management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been elusive. While laboratory studies provide a conceptual framework for the potential efficacy of corticosteroids in this context, clinical trials testing this hypothesis have yielded no convincing evidence of clinical benefit. Here, we review the five key randomized control trials (RCTs) that have examined this issue. Based on the proposed primary endpoints of these RCTs, the five RCTs consistently showed that corticosteroids do not confer significant benefit in the TBI population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Reid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoshide
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Ekkehard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Clark C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Outcomes; TBI; randomized controlled trials; steroids; traumatic brain injury