ADjunctive coRticosteroid trEatment iN criticAlly ilL Patients With Septic Shock

Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out whether adult patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with septic shock who are given hydrocortisone compared to placebo (a dummy solution), will have an improved rate of survival 90 days later. Septic shock is the result of an infection, which triggers a complex response by the body (the inflammatory response) that causes a decrease in blood pressure and subsequently one or more organ systems to fail when blood supply to these organs is reduced. This may result in poor recovery and death. About a quarter of the people who suffer septic shock that is not rapidly reversed, will die. When patients are admitted to Intensive Care with sepsis and/or septic shock they receive a number of therapies. These include fluids given through a drip, antibiotics, drugs to boost your blood pressure and other organ systems. In addition to these therapies, steroids (hydrocortisone) are sometimes administered. Whether steroids are useful or not in the treatment of severe infections has been studied for more than 50 years. Previous research has suggested that the use of low dose steroid may have shortterm benefits in improving the circulation. However, there is no agreement amongst doctors around the world about whether treatment with or without low dose steroids improves the overall recovery and survival in patients with septic shock. This study would allow doctors to make informed decisions about whether the addition of low dose steroid therapy is better for patients with septic shock in intensive care. The study will include 3800 intensive care patients who have septic shock. Each enrolled patient will be randomised to receive either Hydrocortisone 200mg or placebo daily for 7 days as a continuous intravenous infusion while in intensive care. The patient will be followed for 90 days. If the patient is discharged prior to 90 days a telephone call will be made for the followup information. At six months the patient will be contacted again for completion of a quality of life questionnaire.

Timeline

Start

2012-06-13

Primary completion

2017-10-22

Completion

2017-11-20

Publications

• Daubney ER, D'Urso S, Cuellar-Partida G, Rajbhandari D, Peach E, de Guzman E, McArthur C, Rhodes A, Meyer J, Finfer S, Myburgh J, Cohen J, Schirra HJ, Venkatesh B, Evans DM. A Genome-Wide Association Study of Serum Metabolite Profiles in Septic Shock Patients. Crit Care Explor. 2024 Jan 17;6(1):e1030. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000001030. eCollection 2024 Jan.
• Li W, Cornelius V, Finfer S, Venkatesh B, Billot L. Adaptive designs in critical care trials: a simulation study. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2023 Oct 18;23(1):236. doi: 10.1186/s12874-023-02049-6.
• Venkatesh B, Finfer S, Cohen J, Rajbhandari D, Arabi Y, Bellomo R, Billot L, Correa M, Glass P, Harward M, Joyce C, Li Q, McArthur C, Perner A, Rhodes A, Thompson K, Webb S, Myburgh J; ADRENAL Trial Investigators and the Australian-New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group. Adjunctive Glucocorticoid Therapy in Patients with Septic Shock. N Engl J Med. 2018 Mar 1;378(9):797-808. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1705835. Epub 2018 Jan 19.

Drugs

Indications