[Two cases of successful treatments with steroid for local and systemic hypersensitivity reaction following intravesical instillation of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin].

We have found steroid pulse therapy to be effective and safe for local and systemic adverse reactions of BCG therapy. Two cases are reported. Case 1: A 57-year-old woman with initial recurrence of urinary bladder carcinoma was treated with transurethral resection. The histopathological findings were transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), G2 > G1, pT1a. To prevent a second recurrence, she was administered Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillation therapy: 80 mg of BCG, (Tokyo strain) suspended in 40 ml of normal saline, instilled into her bladder weekly. After the fifth week of instillation, she was found to have a cough, sputum, edema of the eyelids, congestion of palpebral conjunctive, severe pain on micturition and pollakisuria. Although she was administered antituberculus, antibiotics and antiallergic drugs, all sign and symptoms were aggravated. Blood, urine and sputum cultures remained negative for mycobacterium. She was later diagnosed as having hypersensitive reactions against BCG and treated with steroid pulse therapy. The signs and symptoms mentioned above were decreased immediately and disappeared after a week. Case 2: A 76-year-old man with initial recurrence of urinary bladder carcinoma was treated with transurethral resection. To prevent a second recurrence, he was instilled the BCG six (6) times. Although no adverse reaction was observed, urinary cytology remained positive (class V) and small papillary tumor was detected at the dome of the bladder. Transurethral biopsy was then performed. The histopathological findings showed TCC, G3, CIS on the dome of bladder. Then he was again administered the same BCG instillation therapy. After the fifth instillation, he complained of severe pain of micturition, pollakisuria and dysuria. Although he was administered antibiotics and antiinflammatory drugs, all signs and symptoms were aggravated. Urine culture remained negative for mycobacterium. He was diagnosed as having hypersensitive reactions against BCG and was treated with two times of steroid pulse therapy. The signs and symptoms mentioned above were decreased immediately and disappeared after the second steroid pulse therapy.