Oral pulse prednisone therapy in the treatment of HBsAg negative chronic active hepatitis.

A young woman with hepatitis B surface antigen negative chronic active hepatitis and hypergammaglobulinemia was treated successfully with oral pulse steroid therapy consisting of prednisone, 90 mg/day, given in repeated 3--5-day courses at 3--4-wk intervals. This approach, which is hypothetically founded on the ability of steroids to cause prolonged inhibition of immunoglobulin G synthesis and proposed mechanisms of hepatocellular damage in chronic active hepatitis, permitted complete clinical, chemical, and histologic remission without morbidity. Oral pulse prednisone therapy deserves further study as a possible adjunct or alternative to existing methods of managing hepatitis B surface antigen negative chronic active hepatitis associated with hypergammaglobulinemia.