title: What are the effects of adding azathioprine to corticosteroids in polymyositis?
abstract: The treatment of polymyositis is based on corticosteroid therapy, with addition of azathioprine for non responsive cases or as an attempt to diminish corticosteroids requirements. However, there is no clear evidence of its benefit in controlling symptoms. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified only one systematic review including one pertinent randomized trial. We generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded there is uncertainty if azathioprine improves or not muscular strength in polymyositis because the certainty of the evidence is very low.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: radagabriel@epistemonikos.org.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meneses
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos; Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; GRADE working group; The Cochrane Collaboration.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rada
mesh_terms: D001379:Azathioprine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017285:Polymyositis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D001379:Azathioprine