title: Successful treatment of progressive rheumatoid interstitial lung disease with cyclosporine: a case report.
abstract: Treatment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been controversial. Although there have been several anecdotal reports on the efficacies of corticosteroids or cytotoxic agents such as methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, and D-penicillamine for the treatment of ILD associated with RA, no controlled studies have been performed. To date, corticosteroids have been a central agent for the treatment of this disease, but their effects are partial and temporary in most cases. In addition, the adverse effects of these agents are considerable. On the other hand, limited information is available on the cyclosporine use in ILD associated with RA. We describe a 49-yr old female patient with RA and ILD that had initially responded to high dose prednisolone and cyclophosphamide intravenous pulse therapy, and the lung disease was aggravated with the tapering of prednisolone. After 10 months of follow-up loss, the patient was successfully treated with low dose cyclosporine without high dose corticosteroids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ulsan Asan-Kangnung Hospital, Korea. hanks@knh.co.kr
authors.forename: Hyun Kyu
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Wann
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dae Sik
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011859:Radiography; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D016572:Cyclosporine; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011239:Prednisolone