Treatment of Widespread Alopecia Areata in Young Patients with Monthly Oral Corticosteroid Pulse

July 1998 in “ Pediatric Dermatology ”

Vinod Sharma, S Muralidhar

alopecia areata oral corticosteroid pulse prednisolone betamethasone sodium phosphate corticosteroid steroid

TLDR Monthly oral corticosteroid pulses effectively treat widespread alopecia areata in young patients.

Sixteen young patients with widespread alopecia areata were treated with monthly oral corticosteroid pulses. Group A (ages 12-18) received 300 mg of prednisolone, while Group B (ages 3-11) received betamethasone sodium phosphate equivalent to 5 mg/kg prednisolone. After a minimum of three doses, 60% of patients showed excellent hair growth at 6 months. Four patients experienced localized relapse during follow-up, but side effects were minimal. The study recommended pulsed prednisolone as an effective treatment for widespread alopecia areata in young patients.

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