Corticosteroid therapy during intercurrent illness
| First author | Year | Study design | N | Follow-up (months) | Treatment group | Control group | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abeyagunawardena | 2014 | Placebo-controlled crossover | 48 | 12 | 0.5 mg/kg prednisolone for 5 days | Placebo | 65% relapse free vs 40% (p=0.014) |
| Gulati | 2011 | Randomised controlled trial | 100 | 12 | Increase to daily prednisolone for 7 days | Continue alternate-day prednisolone (mean 0.6 mg/kg) | Rate difference 0.7 relapses/pt/year (95% CI 0.3 to 1.1) |
| Abeyagunawardena | 2008 | Placebo-controlled crossover | 40 | Up to 19 | Increase to daily prednisolone for 7 days | Placebo+continue alternate-day prednisolone (mean 0.3 mg/kg) | 82% relapse free vs 52% (p=0.014) |
| Mattoo | 2000 | Quasi-randomised controlled trial | 36 | 24 | Increase to daily prednisone for 5 days | Continue alternate-day prednisone (0.5 mg/kg) | Mean relapses 2.2 vs 5.5/pt/year (p=0.04) |