Intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy for children with autoimmune hepatitis.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate an efficacy of intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy (m-PSL) and the occurrence of corticosteroid-related side effects in children with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), compared with oral corticosteroid therapy.

STUDY

DESIGN

The subjects consisted of nine children with AIH. Patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 was consisted of four patients who were treated with conventional oral prednisone therapy without m-PSL. Group 2 was consisted of five children who were treated with m-PSL as an induction therapy and maintained on oral prednisone.

RESULTS

The median duration needed for normalization of alanine aminotransferase was 285 days (range 18-617 days) in group 1 and 54 days (range 15-116 days) in group 2. The most frequent side effects were obesity and growth retardation. The Z-score in group 1 tended to be lower than in group 2 and body mass index in group 1 tended to be higher than in group 2.

CONCLUSION

The m-PSL may become a safe and effective therapy for children with AIH. Further study is needed to establish the appropriate therapy for AIH in children.