Fig. 1

Radar chart of methylprednisolone equivalent dose for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome weighing 60 kg on the initial day. The radar chart on the right is an enlarged view of a portion from the chart on the left. The orange line represents the activity of glucocorticoids, and the blue line represents the activity of mineralocorticoids. The steroid dose on the initial day (loading and maintenance doses) was based on the following randomized controlled trials: hydrocortisone [14], methylprednisolone (Steinberg et al.) [19], methylprednisolone (Meduri et al.) [20], and dexamethasone [17]. The potency of glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids is shown as a methylprednisolone equivalent dose (mg per 60 kg body weight)