[Treatment of idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis. Therapeutic experiences with azathioprine-prednisolone and D-penicillamine-prednisolone combination therapy].

Lung function data during three different therapies for idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis are presented. Corticosteroid monotherapyis without effect. A combination of prednisolone and azathioprin improves vital capacity by more than 15% in half of cases. Under this treatment the resting PO2 improves in a third of patients. No improvement in PO2 under exercise is observable in any patient. Combined therapy with D-penicillamine and prednisolone improves vital capacity and PO2 both at rest and under exercise; this therapy thus appears to be superior to the other two. The effectiveness of D-penicillamine-prednisolone therapy can be enhanced by adding azathioprin, as has been found in a pilot study thus far covering 4 patients.