A comparison of two regimens of topical corticosteroids in the treatment of patients with bullous pemphigoid: a multicenter randomized study.

Abstract

Superpotent topical corticosteroids (CS) have been demonstrated to improve bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients' survival. We assessed whether a mild regimen using lower doses of topical CS and a shorter duration could improve the outcome of BP patients even more. Three-hundred and twelve BP patients were included in a multicenter randomized controlled trial and stratified depending on the extent of BP as moderate (n=134) or extensive (n=178). Patients were randomly assigned to the standard regimen (clobetasol propionate cream, 40 g per day initially, with CS tapering over 12 months) or the mild regimen (10-30 g per day), with CS tapering over 4 months. A noninferior rate of BP control was obtained with the mild regimen 156/159 (98%) as compared with the standard regimen 150/150 (100%; P=0.005). Event-free survival, that is, the combined outcome of deaths and life-threatening adverse events did not differ between the two treatment groups (P=0.77). However, upon adjusting through the Cox model for age and Karnofsky score, a strong beneficial effect of the mild regimen was observed in patients with moderate BP, with an almost twofold decrease in the risk of death or life-threatening adverse events relative to the standard regimen (hazard ratio=0.54; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.97; P=0.039). This mild regimen allows a 70% reduction of the cumulative doses of CS and improves BP patients' outcome.

• Authors: Pascal Joly, Jean-Claude Roujeau, Jacques Benichou, Emmanuel Delaporte, Michel D'Incan, Brigitte Dreno, Christophe Bedane, Agnes Sparsa, Isabelle Gorin, Catherine Picard, Emmanuelle Tancrede-Bohin, Bruno Sassolas, Catherine Lok, Jean-Claude Guillaume, Marie-Sylvie Doutre, Marie-Aleth Richard, Frédéric Caux, Catherine Prost, Patrice Plantin, Olivier Chosidow, Christine Pauwels, Hervé Maillard, Philippe Saiag, Vincent Descamps, Jacqueline Chevrant-Breton, Olivier Dereure, Marie-France Hellot, Eric Esteve, Philippe Bernard
• Journal: The Journal of investigative dermatology (J Invest Dermatol) Vol. 129 Issue 7 Pg. 1681-7 (Jul 2009) ISSN: 1523-1747 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19177141 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Glucocorticoids
• Clobetasol

Topics

• Administration, Topical
• Adrenal Glands (drug effects)
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Clobetasol (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Disease-Free Survival
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Glucocorticoids (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Humans
• Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System (drug effects)
• Male
• Pemphigoid, Bullous (drug therapy)
• Proportional Hazards Models
• Recurrence
• Treatment Outcome