title: Oral mini pulse therapy: report of a case and review of the literature.
abstract: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous disease with an unknown aetiology, affecting 0.5-2% of the population and with a predilection for females in fourth to fifth decade of life. Most oral lichen planus lesions are asymptomatic but the atrophic and erosive forms of OLP can cause symptoms ranging from spontaneous soreness to severe pain interfering with eating, speech and swallowing. Various drugs have been used for the treatment of OLP including corticosteroids and other immunomodulators. However, no therapy is considered as the single most effective and without side effects in the management of this enigmatic disease. This paper presents a case of successful management of extensive, symptomatic atrophic OLP with a novel treatment protocol: oral mini pulse therapy with betamethasone. In spite of using long-term systemic corticosteroids, side effects were minimal and clinically uneventful. Further controlled trials with this therapy may provide a definitive mode of treatment for severe OLP cases.
authors.affiliation: Dr Syamala Reddy Dental College Hospital & Research Centre, Affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. drprem01@gmail.com
authors.forename: Prem
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Shraddha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahirwani
authors.forename: Jigna V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Raja
authors.forename: Mallayya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pujari
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuteja
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garg
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005882:Gingival Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D020551:Pulse Therapy, Drug / Q000379:methods; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D001623:Betamethasone