Feline pemphigus foliaceus: original case series and a comprehensive literature review

BMC Veterinary Research

Table 2 Original case series: Details of the high-dose pulse glucocorticoid therapy

High-Dose Glucocorticoid Pulse Therapy	# cats	% cats	Time to Disease Control			Cumulative Dose of Steroids			Number of Pulses
High-Dose Glucocorticoid Pulse Therapy	# cats	% cats	Median	Mean	Range	Median	Mean	Range	Median	Mean	Range
Total # of cats receiving high dose GC pulse therapy	12								1	2	(1–3)
Cats achieving DC within 4 weeks of the high dose GC pulse therapy	7	58%	14	14	(7–28)	165	198	(115–324)	1	1	1
Cats failing to reach DC within 4 weeks of the high dose GC pulse therapy (eventually reaching DC with different TX^a)	3	25%	80	131	(43–269)	465	543	(465–710)	2	2	2
Cats treated with high dose GC pulse therapy that failed to reach DC (including other treatment strategies)	2	17%							3	3	3

Cumulative dose of glucocorticoids up to the time of disease control was calculated as a prednisolone equivalent for 5 kg cat. Following estimated steroid equivalency conversions were used: dexamethasone and triamcinolone acetonide about seven times and methylprednisolone 1.3 times more potent than prednisolone [41, 42]. Due to the low bioavailability of prednisone in cats [94,95,96], the equivalency conversion between prednisone and prednisolone could not be determined and, therefore, the single case in which prednisone was used to induce disease control was excluded from the cumulative dose calculation
^aOne of these cats achieved disease control with high-dose pulse glucocorticoid therapy within 43 days (after the second pulse). The remaining cats achieved disease control with other treatment regimens

ISSN: 1746-6148