PREDNISONE AND PREDNISOLONE THERAPY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Abstract

• The effects of prednisone, prednisolone, and hydrocortisone were compared in 141 arthritic patients over periods from six to nine months. None of the cases were mild, and the average duration had been 126 months. Administration of the drugs was discontinued in 12 instances because improvement was insignificant and/or serious complications intervened. Maintenance dosages were determined in the remaining patients. In the moderately severe cases, the maintenance doses of prednisone and prednisolone were found to be 5 to 15 mg. per day by mouth, indicating these drugs are about four times as potent as hydrocortisone. The two drugs, though of equal potency, differed in the variety of side-effects they induced. Gastric complaints, as well as gastric ulcers disclosed by roentgenography, developed in several patients. In choosing among the drugs now available for arthritis, it is possible and necessary to consider their varying effects on individuals.