Objective: With emerging of observational evidence, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis to summarize the overall effect of the chronic use of inhaled corticosteroids on the clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: Systematic literature search in electronic databases was performed to identify observational studies that investigated the preadmission use of inhaled corticosteroids on the risk of a fatal or severe course of illness in patients with COVID-19 and reported adjusted measures of association. Adjusted odds ratios or relative risks and the corresponding 95 confidence intervals from each study were pooled to produce pooled odds ratio and 95 confidence interval. Results: The meta-analysis revealed no significant difference in the risk for the development of a fatal course of COVID-19 with preadmission use of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19 relative to non-use of inhaled corticosteroids (pooled odds ratio=1.28; 95 confidence interval 0.73-2.26). Similarly, the meta-analysis observed no significant difference in the risk for the development of a severe course of COVID-19 with preadmission use of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19 relative to non-use of inhaled corticosteroids (pooled odds ratio=1.45; 95 confidence interval 0.96-2.20). Conclusions: Our findings assured the safety of continued use of inhaled corticosteroids during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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