Potential benefits of precise corticosteroids therapy for severe 2019-nCoV pneumonia

Since last December, the outbreak of 2019-nCoV in Wuhan has caused ever-increasing attention and public panic all over the world. Up to February 9, 2020, 40,171 patients had been diagnosed with 2019-nCoV infection, including 6484 (16.14%) severe cases and 908 deaths (2.27%). Compared to SARS and MERS, 2019-nCoV appears to be much more contagious but less lethal, as most patients have mild symptoms and good prognosis 1,2 . However, according to the Chinese government's daily report, 13.2-21.3% of patients with 2019-nCoV infection developed into severe or fatal illness (Fig. Along with an increasing number of confirmed cases, the cumulative total of severe patients with 2019-nCoV is growing (Fig. Treatment of these critically ill patients is becoming one of the major challenges we are facing.