[Demographic study on patients with Pemphigus Vulgaris and comparing results of various treatment protocols in such patients]

ABSTRACT

In conventional treatment of Pemphigus Vulgaris use of adjuvant and initial dose of Corticosteroid affect the healing of lesions in patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the epidemiology and clinical features of Pemphigus Vulgaris patients and to compare the criteria of response to treatment in various initial doses of Prednisolon and also to study the effect of Immuran as an adjuvant. In this retrospective study on Pemphigus Vulgaris patients admitted in Qaem hospital in Mashhad during the past 10 years, 63 patients were included and epidemiologic parameters, clinical features, treatment agents and criteria of response to their treatment [time of stopping the development of new lesions , time of onset of healing, time of tapering dose of steroids] were studied. The average dose of Steroid and Immuran was 1.15 +/- 0.47 mg/kg/day and 2.2 +/- 0.9 mg/kg/day, respectively. The average time of stopping the development of new lesions was 10.49 +/- 8.7 days, starting healing lesions, 10.75 +/- 7.86 days and tapering the dose of steroid was 3.75 +/- 2.35 days. Use of Immuran in treatment of patients had a statistical relation [p=0.048] with the time of tapering dose of Steroids, although it had no such relation with the first and the second criteria of healing [p=0.312 and p=0.1] respectively. On the other hand, initial dose of Immuran in mg/kg/day had no statistical relation with three criteria [P values were 0.328, 0.136, 0.467 respectively], whereas initial dose of Preadnisolon showed statistical relation with the onset time of healing [p=0.000] but not with time of tapering or stopping new lesions. [P>0.05] No relation between the time of tapering of Steroid and the other two objective criteria of response [the time of stopping new lesions and the onset time of healing], may be due to individual decision for tapering the dose of Steroid. And probably use of Immuran as an adjuvant, has related only with onset of Steroid tapering [but not two other objective criteria]