Oral pulse prednisone therapy in the treatment of HBsAg negative chronic active hepatitis.

A young woman with hepatitis B surface antigen negative chronic active hepatitis and hypergammaglobulinemia was treated successfully with oral pulse steroid therapy consisting of prednisone, 90 mg/day, given in repeated 3--5-day courses at 3--4-wk intervals. This approach, which is hypothetically founded on the ability of steroids to cause prolonged inhibition of immunoglobulin G synthesis and proposed mechanisms of hepatocellular damage in chronic active hepatitis, permitted complete clinical, chemical, and histologic remission without morbidity. Oral pulse prednisone therapy deserves further study as a possible adjunct or alternative to existing methods of managing hepatitis B surface antigen negative chronic active hepatitis associated with hypergammaglobulinemia.

Topical lidocaine in preendoscopic medication.

A double blind study of 111 consecutive elective upper gastrointestinal endoscopies performed with a flexible fiberoptic esophagogastroduodenoscope was made to determine the efficacy of topical pharyngeal anesthesia with lidocaine as an adjunct to intramuscular meperidine, intramuscular atropine, and intravenous diazepam. Patients who received lidocaine rated the over-all endoscopy and passage of the endoscope significantly easier than did those receiving placebo. The endoscopist found that patients who received lidocaine tolerated endoscopy significantly better, although gagging was not affected.