METHYLPREDNISOLONE PULSE THERAPY IN 2 CLINICAL TYPES OF CRESCENTIC GLOMERULONEPHRITIS

To clarify the effectiveness of methylprednisolone pulse therapy on cr escentic glomerulonephritis (CresGN), data of 46 patients was retrospe ctively studied. According to the slope of reciprocals of serum creati nine (s-Cr) the patients were divided into acute and insidious types, and each type was further divided into pulse (P) and conventional(C) t herapy groups. In group C, s-Cr improved more frequently in the acute type (8/10) than in the insidious type (1/9, p<0.05), and the renal su rvival rate was somewhat higher in the former (p=0.09). In the acute t ype there was no difference in the improvement rate of s-Cr between th e two therapy groups, whereas in the insidious type, the improvement r ate was higher in group P (9/15) than in group C (1/9, p<0.05) and the renal survival rate was higher in the former (p<0.01). These results suggest that methylprednisolone pulse therapy may be highly effective for the insidious type of CresGN.