Outpatient treatment of moderately severe active ulcerative colitis with pulsed steroid therapy and conventional steroid therapy.
Pulsed steroid therapy may induce rapid remission in patients with moderately severe ulcerative colitis in outpatient clinics. A total of 19 patients with moderately severe active ulcerative colitis who refused hospitalization were treated between October 1999 and September 2001 in the outpatient clinic. Patients were treated with either conventional oral steroid therapy or intravenous pulsed steroid therapy followed by conventional oral steroid therapy. Eight patients received conventional steroid therapy and 11 patients received pulsed steroid therapy followed by conventional steroid therapy. The efficacies of the two types of steroid therapy were equal, but patients with active colitis responded more quickly to pulsed steroid therapy than to conventional steroid therapy. No serious adverse effects were observed. Moderately severe colitis can be safely treated with either conventional or pulsed steroid therapy in the outpatient clinic, but pulsed steroid therapy may induce clinical remission more quickly than conventional steroid therapy.
Oshitani
Nobuhide
N
Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3, Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan.
Kamata
Noriko
N
Ooiso
Ryuta
R
Kawashima
Daichi
D
Inagawa
Makoto
M
Sogawa
Mitsue
M
Iimuro
Masaki
M
Jinno
Yoshio
Y
Watanabe
Kenji
K
Higuchi
Kazuhide
K
Matsumoto
Takayuki
T
Arakawa
Tetsuo
T
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020551:Pulse Therapy, Drug; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D011239:Prednisolone; D008775:Methylprednisolone