Baseline characteristics of the study population
| MP (n=337) | DM (n=340) | |
| Age (years) | 64.4±13.6 | 63±14.1 |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 237 (70.3) | 233 (68.5) |
| Female | 100 (29.7) | 107 (31.5) |
| BMI (kg·m−2)# | 28.4±5.2 | 28.1±5.1 |
| Ever-smoker | 132 (39.2) | 150 (44.1) |
| Previous coexisting disease | ||
| Any of the listed conditions | 247 (73.3) | 225 (66.2) |
| Diabetes¶ | 60 (17.8) | 58 (17.1) |
| Previous cancer+ | 23 (6.8) | 28 (8.2) |
| Arterial hypertension§ | 161 (47.8) | 154 (45.3) |
| Asthmaƒ | 17 (5.0) | 17 (5.0) |
| COPD## | 25 (7.4) | 26 (7.7) |
| Bronchiectasis¶¶ | 4 (1.2) | 3 (0.9) |
| Pulmonary embolism++ | 3 (0.9) | 10 (2.9) |
| Chronic kidney disease§§ | 17 (5.0) | 16 (4.7) |
| Atrial fibrillationƒƒ | 20 (5.9) | 23 (6.8) |
| Ischaemic heart disease### | 27 (8.0) | 26 (7.7) |
| Heart failure¶¶¶ | 23 (6.8) | 22 (6.5) |
| Chronic liver disease | 6 (1.8) | 6 (1.8) |
| Vasculopathy | 11 (3.3) | 8 (2.4) |
| Use of glucocorticoids before enrolment+++ | 158 (46.9) | 160 (47.3) |
| Days of glucocorticoid use, median (IQR) | 2 (3.0) | 3 (4.0) |
| Prednisone-equivalent cumulative dose (mg), median (IQR)§§§ | 75 (112.5) | 100 (118.7) |
| Anticoagulation before enrolmentƒƒƒ | 33 (9.8) | 40 (11.8) |
| Days of hospitalisation before randomisation, median (IQR) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.0) |
| Respiratory support at randomisation#### | ||
| Low-flow oxygen | 142 (42.3) | 174 (51.6) |
| High-flow nasal cannula | 74 (22.0) | 45 (13.3) |
| Noninvasive mechanical ventilation | 120 (35.7) | 118 (35.0) |
| Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (at least one dose)¶¶¶¶ | 80 (23.7) | 76 (22.4) |
| PaO2/FIO2 (mmHg), median (IQR) | 178.6 (135.0) | 202 (130.9) |
| CRP (mg·L−1), median (IQR) | 69.7 (81.8) | 74 (87.1) |
Data are presented as mean±sd or n (%), unless otherwise stated. MP: methylprednisolone; DM: dexamethasone; BMI: body mass index; IQR: interquartile range; SARS-CoV-2: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; PaO2/FIO2: ratio of arterial oxygen tension (mmHg) to inspiratory oxygen fraction; CRP: C-reactive protein. #: missing data: 35 MP, 23 DM; ¶: missing data: 3 MP, 7 DM; +: missing data: 4 MP, 2 DM; §: missing data: 2 MP, 1 DM; ƒ: missing data: 4 MP, 3 DM; ##: missing data: 7 MP, 6 DM; ¶¶: missing data: 6 MP, 4 DM; ++: missing data: 21 MP, 20 DM; §§: missing data: 2 MP, 2 DM; ƒƒ: missing data: 2 MP, 1 DM; ###: missing data: 5 MP, 2 DM; ¶¶¶: missing data: 5 MP, 5 DM; +++: missing data: 8 MP, 13 DM; §§§: calculated as ((daily mg MP×1.25×days)+(daily mg DM×6.25×days)+(daily mg prednisolone×days)); ƒƒƒ: missing data: 13 MP, 8 DM; ####: missing data: 1 MP, 3 DM; ¶¶¶¶: missing data: 129 MP, 126 DM.