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THE EFFECTS OF PROLONGED CORTICOSTEROID THERAPY
Author(s) -
MADDOCKS I.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
australasian annals of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0571-9283
DOI - 10.1111/imj.1961.10.3.223
Subject(s) - medicine , rheumatoid arthritis , incidence (geometry) , cortisone , corticosteroid , lupus erythematosus , hepatitis , arthritis , surgery , immunology , physics , antibody , optics
Summary Sixty‐six patients suffering from various diseases who received more than 10 grammes of cortisone for a period of more than three months were assessed for response to treatment and incidence of complications. Long‐term corticosteroid therapy in this series was associated with a 60% incidence of complications, and a mortality rate of 6% attributable to corticosteroids. The complications were frequently insidious in onset. The incidence of complications was not influenced by age or sex, but increased with increasing total dose and duration of corticosteroid therapy. A favourable initial response to cortisone was associated with fewer complications. Particular complications were found more frequently in some diseases than in others ; dyspepsia and peptic ulcer were most frequently found in rheumatoid arthritis and psychological change in systemic lupus erythematosus. The incidence per patient for complications from corticosteroid therapy was greatest in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and lowest in chronic hepatitis.