Drug therapy in juvenile dermatomyositis: follow-up study.

A series of 33 patients with juvenile dermatomyositis was reviewed in terms of their prognosis in relation to their drug therapy. This retrospective study was intended to help clarify the use of various therapies in this rare, heterogeneous disease from our hospital's experience in the last 24 years. The results confirmed that oral corticosteroids should remain the undisputed first line of treatment. For more refractory, chronic patients, the results suggest that azathioprine should be the favored drug of first choice (in addition to corticosteroids). There may be a role for cyclosporine as a "rescue" treatment, but this needs to be further defined.