High-Dose Steroids May Trigger Organ Damage in Lupus Organ damage risk doubled with daily doses of 20 mg prednisone.

The risk of developing any new organ damage over a mean period of 6.2 years more than doubled (HR 2.514, 95% CI 1.977-3.196, P<0.001) among patients whose mean prednisone dose was 20 mg/day compared with those whose mean dose was below 7.5 mg/day, according to Michelle Petri, MD, director of the Hopkins Lupus Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Lupus/50445