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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 Apr;64(4):546–553. doi: 10.1002/acr.20695

Table 3.

Initial treatment plans for first 4 weeks (4).

Treatment A:
Intravenous methylprednisolone: 30 mg/kg/day (max 1 g) once a day for 3 days. May continue 1x per week (optional)
Methotrexate (subcutaneous unless only oral possible): Lesser of 15 mg/m2 or 1 mg/kg (max 40 mg) once weekly
Prednisone 2 mg/kg/day (max 60 mg) once daily × 4 weeks, then follow schedule in Table 4
Treatment B:
Intravenous methylprednisolone: 30 mg/kg/day (max 1 g) once a day for 3 days. May continue 1x per week (optional)
Methotrexate (subcutaneous unless only oral possible): Lesser of 15 mg/m2 or 1 mg/kg (max 40 mg) once weekly
Prednisone 2 mg/kg/day (max 60 mg) once daily × 4 weeks, then follow schedule in Table 4
Intravenous immunoglobulin 2 g/kg (max 70 g), q 2 weeks × 3, then monthly (Optional intravenous methylprednisolone × 1 with each dose)
Treatment C:
Methotrexate (subcutaneous unless only oral possible): Lesser of 15 mg/m2 or 1 mg/kg (max 40 mg) once weekly
Prednisone 2 mg/kg/day (max 60 mg) once daily × 4 weeks, then follow schedule in Table 4