Joshi N, Rajeshwari K
Department of Pediatrics, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
J Postgrad Med. 2009 Oct-Dec;55(4):296-300. doi: 10.4103/0022-3859.58942.
Conventional oral steroids like prednisolone have various adverse effects both during short-term and long-term use. Hence a search for an alternative oral steroid with fewer side-effects is underway throughout the world. Deflazacort, an oxazoline derivative, is a step in this direction. The number of large randomized trials using deflazacort for steroid-responsive disorders in children is limited. Use of deflazacort has been explored largely in patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Preliminary data suggest reduced osteoporosis, lesser growth retardation and weight gain with use of deflazacort, as compared to other steriods. In view of the limited data demonstrating superiority of deflazacort over the available oral steroids and its prohibitive cost, it is early to advocate widespread use of this drug in children.
像泼尼松龙这样的传统口服类固醇在短期和长期使用中都有各种不良反应。因此，全世界都在寻找一种副作用较少的替代口服类固醇。地夫可特，一种恶唑啉衍生物，就是朝着这个方向迈出的一步。使用地夫可特治疗儿童类固醇反应性疾病的大型随机试验数量有限。地夫可特的使用主要在杜氏肌营养不良症患者中进行了探索。初步数据表明，与其他类固醇相比，使用地夫可特可减少骨质疏松症、减轻生长发育迟缓并减少体重增加。鉴于证明地夫可特优于现有口服类固醇的数据有限且其成本高昂，现在提倡在儿童中广泛使用这种药物还为时过早。
