Methylprednisolone pulse therapy in severe acute asthma

In a group comparative double blind pilot study six asthmatic patients with an acute exacerbation of their disease were randomly treated with either methylprednisolone pulse therapy (MPPT) (1000 mg daily for 3 days) (n = 2) followed by placebo tablets, or standard doses of methylprednisolone (MP) (50 mg daily gradually decreased to zero over 3 weeks) (n = 4). The results showed that the effect of MPPT did not differ from that of standard doses of MP. MPPT has, however, the potential of being preferable to standard treatment with MP, because of easy administration and optimal patient compliance.