Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:Among the pediatric Berlin ExCor population, the use of a steroid protocol has been noted to decrease the degree of inflammatory markers which trigger the coagulation cascade and was associated with a modest decrease in the incidence of cerebrovascular events [16].
Category: