Shorter courses of systemic steroids are just as effective as conventional longer courses in treating COPD exacerbations, a Cochrane review finds. 

The analysis of eight studies that included 582 people with COPD flares requiring hospitalisation found no differences between shorter and longer courses of treatment in terms of patient outcomes.

People treated for seven or fewer days did not have a higher rate of treatment failure or longer time to their next exacerbation, the updated review found. The authors also found no differences between treatment lengths for time in hospital, lung function, side effects or death.