J Korean Med Sci.  2002 Apr;17(2):270-273. 10.3346/jkms.2002.17.2.270.

Successful Treatment of Progressive Rheumatoid Interstitial Lung Disease With Cyclosporine: A Case Report

• Chang HK
• Park W
• Ryu DS

• KMID: 648690
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2002.17.2.270

Abstract

Treatment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been controversial. Although there have been several anecdotal reports on the efficacies of corticosteroids or cytotoxic agents such as methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, and D-penicillamine for the treatment of ILD associated with RA, no controlled studies have been performed. To date, corticosteroids have been a central agent for the treatment of this disease, but their effects are partial and temporary in most cases. In addition, the adverse effects of these agents are considerable. On the other hand, limited information is available on the cyclosporine use in ILD associated with RA. We describe a 49-yr old female patient with RA and ILD that had initially responded to high dose prednisolone and cyclophosphamide intravenous pulse therapy, and the lung disease was aggravated with the tapering of prednisolone. After 10 months of follow-up loss, the patient was successfully treated with low dose cyclosporine without high dose corticosteroids.

Keyword

Lung Disease, Interstitial; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Cyclosporine

MeSH Terms

Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use
Antirheumatic Agents/*therapeutic use
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/complications/*drug therapy/radiography
Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use
Cyclosporine/*therapeutic use
Disease Progression
Female
Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use
Humans
Lung Diseases, Interstitial/complications/*drug therapy/radiography
Middle Aged
Prednisolone/therapeutic use
Treatment Outcome