Tsai MJ, Yang KY, Chan MC, et al. - Researchers aimed at assessing the real-world status of corticosteroid treatment in patients with influenza-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and its impact on clinical outcomes via performing a multicenter retrospective cohort study in the intensive care units (ICUs) of eight medical centers across Taiwan. They assessed 241 patients with influenza-associated ARDS who had received invasive mechanical ventilation. Among these, a significantly higher hospital mortality rate was observed among 85 (35.3%) patients who were receiving early corticosteroid treatment (≥ 200 mg hydrocortisone equivalent dose within 3 days after ICU admission, determined by a sensitivity analysis) vs those without early corticosteroid treatment. They observed an association of earlier treatment and higher dosing with higher hospital mortality. Clinicians are thus recommended to practice caution when using corticosteroid treatment in this patient group.