Therapeutic Options for Sarcoidosis: Old And
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REVIEW Postgraduate Course ERS Copenhagen 2005 Therapeutic options for R.P. Baughman sarcoidosis: old and new R.P. Baughman University of Cincinnati Medical Center Holmes, Room 1001 Eden Avenue Albert Sabin Way 45267-0565 Cincinnati OH USA Fax: 1 5135845110 E-mail: [email protected] Educational aims To discuss the role of corticosteroids in treating sarcoidosis. To provide information about when to consider cytotoxic drugs for chronic sarcoidosis. To outline how to monitor the use of cytotoxic drugs. To better understand the differences in response when using anti-tumour necrosis factor agents in treating sarcoidosis Summary This article was modified from The decision to treat a patient with sarcoidosis is dependent on many factors, the most an ERS Postgraduate Course important being whether the patient is symptomatic. Initial systemic therapy for symp- held at the 2005 ERS Congress tomatic sarcoidosis usually includes corticosteroids. However, most symptomatic in Copenhagen. patients will require months to years of therapy. Therefore, alternatives to corticosteroids Original slides, web casts and original material can be found have been studied. This review will give a brief overview of the effect of corticosteroids at www.ersnet.org/elearning and alternative treatments options available. Breathe | June 2006 | Volume 2 | No 4 345 REVIEW Postgraduate Course ERS Copenhagen 2005 The focus of this review will be on sarcoidosis The study by PARAMOTHAYAN and JONES [1] also and its treatment; however, much of this studied diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon information can be applied to other granuloma- monoxide (DL,CO), although only two trials met tous diseases. For example, some of the treat- their criteria for viable double-blind randomised ment strategies that have been developed for trials. Overall, corticosteroid therapy was favoured sarcoidosis have also been used for hypersensi- over placebo for DL,CO. However, these authors felt tivity pneumonitis. that there was not enough evidence to support an The recommended treatments for sarcoidosis improvement in forced vital capacity. differ from none to a combination of cytotoxic The study by GIBSON et al. [2] is an excellent agents. A major reason for this wide spectrum of example of a clinical trial for sarcoidosis patients, treatment relates to the variation in disease out- since it provides full detail of what actually hap- come. Moreover, treatment options vary because pened to the patients studied. Out of 150 no treatment can cure the disease, but rather just patients who were observed for 6 months, 33 control the symptoms. Finally, the preference of experienced a deterioration in their health requir- the patient and treating physician have an influ- ing clinical treatment, and 58 got better without ence. All of these reasons impact on any decisions the need for any form of therapy (although their regarding drug usage and duration of therapy. chest radiography remained abnormal) and they were not randomised into the trial. Patients were randomised to selective thera- Sarcoidosis and py or were immediately prescribed steroids. If they started to deteriorate after 6 months of corticosteroids observation they were tested. Six out of 31 Over the past 10 years, therapy for sarcoidosis patients actually deteriorated and were placed has evolved and corticosteroids are no longer the on steroids. Patients were treated for 18 months only available treatment option. and, on follow-up 5 years later, there was a sig- Early literature suggested that cortico- nificant improvement in the vital capacity and a steroids were effective for sarcoidosis, but the difference in the dyspnoea score. However, it results from these published clinical trials were should be noted that an element of bias was limited, as placebo could not be used for the introduced into the study as the sickest patients most ill patients for obvious ethical reasons. in the placebo group were also treated. Subsequently, it has been shown that the use of The same effect was also seen in a study systemic coricosteroid therapy is linked to chron- examining budesonide [3], where a large num- ic sarcoidosis. ber of stage 1, 2 and 3 patients were treated. The The first question that should be considered most important results were found in patients is whether corticosteroids are helpful in sar- with stage 2 and 3 disease, i.e. those with pul- coidosis. In the 1950s, several small anecdotal monary infiltrates. After 18 months (comprising trials revealed beneficial effects of these drugs in 3 months of prednisolone and 15 months of sarcoidosis patients who were dying from their budesonide), there was a significant improve- disease. In 2002, a meta-analysis on the use of ment in the steroid group, but no change in the corticosteroids in sarcoidosis patients clearly placebo group, which persisted at the 5-year fol- demonstrated an improvement on chest radiog- low-up. It could be argued that this is the best raphy as compared with the use of placebo [1]. data to support treating patients with 3 months However, despite improvement on chest radiog- of systemic steroids, followed by 15 months of raphy, corticosteroid use may not improve inhaled steroids. The data look even more patient health (see Case summary). impressive when the DL,CO is considered. Case summary A patient who had been referred to the current author reported weight gain as a result of taking corticosteroids. The patient had initially been prescribed 20 mg prednisone q.d. (figure 1) but when the dose was reduced to 10 mg q.d. (figure 2) due to the side-effects, the patient's condition deteriorated. This was evident from chest comput- ed tomography, which revealed an increase of infiltrates in various parts of the lung. However, the patient was asymptomatic, with the exception of weight gain and diabetes. Subsequently, the patient was tapered off steroids, has not been taking steroids for 2 years and has had no clinical relapse. Even with abnormal chest radiography, the medical team are quite comfortable monitoring the patient, since his vital capacity has always been >85%. Thus, the decision to give corticosteroid therapy should not be purely based on the results of chest radiography. 346 Breathe | June 2006 | Volume 2 | No 4 Postgraduate Course ERS Copenhagen 2005 REVIEW Figure 1 Indications for Chest radiograph of patient who was initially prescribed 20 mg corticosteroid therapy prednisone. The American Thoracic Society/World Associ- ation for Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders/European Respiratory Society state- ment [4] has considered the absolute indications for corticosteroid therapy. These indications are presented in table 1. Utility of Figure 2 corticosteroids Chest radiograph of patient when Patients with pulmonary radiographic stage 1 the dose was reduced to 10 mg. disease, with or without erythema nodosum, and with normal lung function do not require treat- ment with corticosteroids (grade A recommen- dation). Symptomatic patients with stage 2–3 pul- monary lesions and an impaired lung function respond to treatment with oral corticosteroids (grade A). Patients with newly detected disease respond better than patients who have had sar- coidosis for >2 years (grade A). It is unknown for how long treatment has to be continued and benefit has only been demonstrated with bude- what markers should be used in the decision sonide. making for tapering the dose during treatment Another concern is how much to prescribe and when to stop treatment. when there no dose response is observed. Inhaled corticosteroids have been recom- Recommendations have ranged 30–40 mg, but mended for treating symptoms such as cough, this is a grade U recommendation, meaning that patients with airway obstruction and bronchial there has been no consensus about the starting hyperresponsiveness; however, this has never dose. been supported by any clinical trials and, thus, is Extrapulmonary disease is also a difficult a grade D recommendation. area, since there are no sufficient data to support Conversely, it has been shown that after the use of corticosteroids, although they are induction with oral prednisone, using inhaled commonly used. Hence, it is recommended that budesonide is an alternative for treating a the patients should have organ failure or some patient with sarcoidosis, which is a grade B rec- of the other absolute indications, but this is a ommendation. It is important to realise that this grade D recommendation. Table 1 Indications for Timing of corticos- corticosteroid therapy Absolute Relative teroid treatment Neurological Symptomatic pulmonary For a long time, there has been the philosophy Cardiac disease that therapy once initiated should not be Hypercalcaemia Arthritis stopped, especially in patients with a diagnosis Ocular Hepatic of >2 years [5]. However, it is now clear that (when topical therapy SIRS has failed) there are a group of patients who are not neces- Other life- or organ- sarily going to relapse, although it is still unclear threatening disease how to identify these patients. In a study conducted in Philadelphia, GOTTLIEB et al. [6] examined a mostly African- SIRS: systemic inflammatory response system. American population. Although there was no Breathe | June 2006 | Volume 2 | No 4 347 REVIEW Postgraduate Course ERS Copenhagen 2005 specific protocol, patients were treated in a stan- Antimicrobials dardised fashion. When therapy was discontin- In the literature, there is almost as much data ued, patients were followed-up for at least 2 regarding antimalarials as there is for predisone years. The frequency with which steroids were for the treatment for sarcoidosis. The response rate used was recorded and also whether the patients to antimalarials is much greater in cutaneous dis- relapsed. From the initial 340 patients, one third ease as compared with pulmonary disease. did not require therapy in the first 6 months. The use of chloroquine has been effective for Interestingly, only nine out of the 118 actually some forms of sarcoidosis, mostly skin (grade B). needed therapy in the long term.