The CRASH (Corticosteroid randomisation after significant head injury) study was published in The Lancet in 2004[^1] and investigated the efficacy of methylprednisolone in patients with a Traumatic brain injury. The study showed that methylprednisolone has no beneficial effect on mortality, but actually increases mortality during the first two weeks, prompting the early publication of the initial study results.
Authors’ interpretation
Our results show there is no reduction in mortality with methylprednisolone in the 2 weeks after head injury. The cause of the rise in risk of death within 2 weeks is unclear[^1].
Follow-up study
The following year, a further publication presented the 6-month follow-up data, which reinforced the original conclusion of the initial results:
These results lend support to our earlier conclusion that corticosteroids should not be used routinely in the treatment of head injury[^2].
