Efficacy observation of high dose oral methylprednisolone in the treatment of infantile spasms

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of oral high-dose methylprednisolone in the treatment of infantile spasms (IS). Methods The clinical data of 38 children with infantile spasms were analyzed retrospectively who treated with oral administration of high-dose methylprednisone in Department of Neurology, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2016 to April 2017. Results ⑴ Twenty patients (52.6%) of all the 38 patients were seizure-free after 2 weeks of treatment, and 16 cases (42.1%) were seizure-free at the end of treatment. ⑵ All the 38 cases were typical or atypical hyperarrhythmia. After treatment of 2 weeks, 25 cases (65.8%) of hyperarrhythmia disappeared; at the end of the treatment, 30 cases (78.9%) of hyperarrhythmia disappeared. ⑶ Adverse effects mainly were weight gain, Cushing signs, increased appetite, irritability, drowsiness, co-infection, electrolyte disturbance. ⑷ Follow-up of 3 to 12 months, the recurrence rate was low and the development quotient had improved. Conclusions Oral high dose methylprednisolone in the treatment of IS is effective, safe and has a low recurrence rate. It can be recommended in clinicalal application. Key words: Prednisolone/AD; Spasms, infantile/DT; Administration, oral