Dexamethasone reduces mortality from emergency laparotomy by 67%?

That sounds high.

Emergency laparotomy is performed for life-threatening intra-abdominal processes (so-called “surgical abdomen”), such as perforated viscus or appendicitis, bowel obstruction, or bowel ischemia.

Because these processes often present with massive systemic inflammation, it has been postulated that preoperative corticosteroids could reduce perioperative and …