Figure 3. Effects of steroid dose on survival. The relationship between the dose of steroids administered in the first 24 hours after enrollment in a sepsis trial and relative survival benefit (black circles) is presented. There is a linear relationship (that is, the relative survival benefit decreases with high-dose steroids but increases with lower doses) (P = 0.02). One study (white circle) was overly influential in our regression analysis, was a statistical outlier (P = 0.001) compared with the other trials, and was therefore excluded (35). This study was performed a decade before all of the other trials, included children, and had a high percentage of patients with meningitis.

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