A longterm prospective study of the equipotency between deflazacort and prednisolone in the treatment of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to establish the antiinflammatory equipotency between prednisolone and deflazacort.

METHODS

Thirty patients with newly diagnosed polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) were treated double blind with either prednisolone or deflazacort in a 12-month study. The initial daily dose was 20 mg prednisolone or 24 mg deflazacort.

RESULTS

The clinical control of muscle pain was significantly inferior in the deflazacort group from 6 weeks to 3 months. Otherwise there was no difference in the clinical and biochemical variables. The ratio between antiinflammatory equipotent doses of deflazacort and prednisolone (mg:mg) stabilized at about 1.55 for the daily doses and about 1.40 for the cumulative doses.

CONCLUSION

In PMR the antiinflammatory equipotency (mg to mg) between deflazacort and prednisolone was close to 1.40 (7:5 mg). Twenty mg prednisolone/day was fully sufficient to suppress symptoms in 94% of the patients.