Low-Dose Steroid Therapy Is Associated with Decreased IL-12 Production in PBMCs of Severe Septic Patients

Table 1

Clinical characteristics of severe septic patients with and without low-dose steroid use (percentage, mean ± standard error mean).

	No-low-dose steroid; ()	Low-dose steroid; ()	value
Age (years old)	72.3 ± 6.4	72.1 ± 2.2	0.132
Male	64	72	0.694
APACHE II score	24.5 ± 2.4	29.2 ± 1.5	0.142
History
COPD	36	22	0.433
Heart failure	9	11	1.000
Hypertension	45	22	0.237
Diabetes mellitus	0	22	0.268
End stage renal disease	0	6	1.000
Liver cirrhosis	9	11	1.000
Infection source			0.595
Pneumonia	91	78
Urinary tract infection	9	16
Biliary tract infection	0	6
Initial antibiotics for pathogens			0.367
Sensitive	36	61
Resistant	36	28
No pathogen isolated	27	11

APACHE = acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.