Persons with brain injuries may prevent pneumonia, using certain steroids

The French have conducted several researches connected with pneumonia and steroids. According to the results of their researches, those who have brain injuries may avoid complications connected with pneumonia, if they are cured with the steroid hydrocortisone. These recent studies have displayed several benefits of steroids for clinical purposes.
Pneumonia that is caused by traumatic brain injury is a dangerous disease. Unluckily, it occurs often. The Journal of the American Medical Association has noticed that the percentage of pneumonia which occurs because of traumas is 40-60 %. It is more spread among persons who have experienced brain injuries.
Early post-traumatic pneumonia requires serious medical care and hospitalization. The risk of death is increased. Of course, prevention of this disease is clinical as well as economic problem.
Dr. Antoine Roquilly of the University of Nantes in France has reported that experimental and clinical data have shown that administration of corticosteroids can reduce the appearing as well as severity of pneumonia.
A research related to this condition was conducted 3 years from 2006 to 2009. 150 persons who experienced different types of severe brain injuries were cured with the steroid hydrocortisone. Other individuals with this disease were cured only with sugar pills. More than half of patients that were cured with sugar pills began to suffer from pneumonia over the month. As for those who were cured with hydrocortisone, the results were better. Less than 36 % of them acquired pneumonia during the same period of time. So, they didn’t need to be ventilated mechanically. Moreover, they prevented respiratory problems which troubled the individuals that were given sugar pills.
Dr. Lisandro Irizarry of the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City has noted that the research is interesting but it requires further studies in order to be claimed a part of standardized therapy.
Actually, any person that has experienced a brain injury may confront the problem, when he/she doesn’t have capacity to engage in normal oral hygiene and routine expectorating of mucus. It may lead to great amounts of bacteria. It increases the risk of pneumonia. So, when a body has such stress, as a trauma, some hormones, including hydrocortisone, must assist in healing. But this process can be suppressed by trauma. That’s why such patient needs an external supplement of steroids for a short period of time to enhance healing responses of the body.
Although these studies have proven usefulness of the steroid hydrocortisone for patients with brain injuries, some more researches have to be conducted. It manifests that steroids can save lives of people in some situations.