Treatment of scleritis with combined oral prednisone and indomethacin therapy.

Six patients with diffuse or nodular scleritis that did not respond satisfactorily to oral indomethacin or prednisone used alone required a combination of these two drugs to achieve a complete clinical response. In our patients, the total daily doses of prednisone when used alone ranged from 40 to 100 mg, and the total daily doses of indomethacin when used alone ranged from 100 to 200 mg. Use of combination therapy with prednisone in total daily doses ranging from 10 to 60 mg as well as indomethacin in total daily doses ranging from 50 to 150 mg resulted in a complete clinical response. The corticosteroid-saving effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents allowed the use of lower doses of corticosteroids, thereby decreasing the risk of serious systemic side effects.