Adjunct prednisone in community-acquired pneumonia: 180-day outcome of a multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Table 4 Subgroup analyses for the secondary endpoint recurrence

Subgroup variables	Placebo (n = 366)	Prednisone (n = 361)	Logistic regression, OR (95%CI)	p for heterogeneity (interaction)^b
Median age				0.498
Age ≤ 73 years	8/192 (4.2%)	15/177 (8.5%)	2.21 (0.91–5.39)
Age > 73 years	4/174 (2.3%)	14/184 (7.6%)	3.49 (1.12–10.84)
Initial median CRP				0.251
CRP ≤ 158 mg/L	3/181 (1.7%)	13/180 (7.2%)	4.54 (1.27–16.23)
CRP > 158 mg/L	9/182 (4.9%)	16/179 (8.9%)	1.89 (0.81–4.40)
History of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease				0.991
no	9/312 (2.9%)	20/291 (6.9%)	2.49 (1.11–5.55)
yes	3/54 (6%)	9/70 (13%)	2.58 (0.64–10.41)
Pneumonia severity index^a				0.869
PSI class I-III	6/193 (3.1%)	14/174 (8.0%)	2.75 (1.03–7.32)
PSI class IV-V	6/173 (3.5%)	15/187 (8.0%)	2.54 (0.96–6.74)
Blood culture positivity				0.014
Blood culture negative	7/321 (2.2%)	28/324 (8.6%)	4.23 (1.82–9.84)
Blood culture positive	5/45 (11%)	1/37 (3%)	0.14 (0.01–1.75)
Sex				0.730
Male	8/231 (3.5%)	17/219 (7.8%)	2.33 (0.98–5.53)
Female	4/135 (3.0%)	12/142 (8.5%)	3.03 (0.95–9.66)
Microbiological etiology
Bacterial proof				0.013
Yes	7/87 (8%)	5/81 (6%)	0.71 (0.21–2.37)
No	4/245 (1.6%)	22/254 (8.7%)	5.69 (1.93–16.77)
Viral prof				0.200
Yes	3/38 (8%)	4/38 (11%)	1.57 (0.32–7.79)
No	3/181 (1.7%)	14/176 (8.0%)	5.15 (1.45–18.29)

Data are number (%) unless otherwise stated. OR odds ratio. CI confidence interval.
^aThe PSI is a clinical prediction rule to calculate the probability of morbidity and mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia; PSI risk class I corresponds to age ≤ 50 years, and no risk factors (≤50 points), risk class II to < 70 points, risk class III to 71–90 points, risk class IV to 91–130 points, and risk class V to > 130 points [20].
^bLogistic regression including an interaction term of the respective subgroup variable with treatment group

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