Efficacy and adverse effects of using large doses of corticosteroid preparations administered every other day

: The authors analyze the efficacy and side effects of prednisolone administered to 600 patients for myasthenia and polymyositis in a dose of 0.8 to 1.5 mg per kg body weight every other day for a period ranging from 3 months to 10 years. Practically complete remissions and substantial improvement were attained in 74% of the patients. None of them showed pronounced symptoms of hypercorticism. Of the side effects the most frequent were luniform face, vegetative disturbances, hirsutism. It is shown that the degree of the side effects is associated not with the duration of the prednisolone treatment, but with initially large doses of the hormone. Transition to supporting therapy in a dose of 0.4 to 0.6 mg/kg led to a substantial diminution and disappearance of the corticosteroid-produced side effects.