TABLE 2. Summary of Included Articles and Corticosteroid Use.

Author	Sample Size	Study Design	Corticosteroid Dose		Initiation of Treatment From Time ofDiagnosis
			Dose, mg/kg per d	Duration
Ronkainen etal9(2006)	171	Prospective, randomized,  placebo-controlled	1	2 wk, weaning over 2 wk	At diagnosis
Huberetal11 (2004)	40	Prospective, randomized,  placebo-controlled	2	1 wk, weaning over 1 wk	At diagnosis
Mollica etal14 (1992)	168	Prospective, randomized,  placebo-controlled	1	2 wk	At diagnosis
Trapani etal21 (2005)	150	Retrospective	1–2	Mean of 13.7 d (range: 7–32)	Not stated
Gonzalez-Gay and Llorca23 (2005)	78	Retrospective	Not stated		Not stated
Reinehr etal18 (2000)	101	Retrospective	2a	1wk	<3 wk (46%), >3 wk (54%)
Reinehr etal10 (2000)	171	Retrospective	2a	1wk	<3 wk(15%), >3wk(85%)
Chao et al20(2000)	20	Retrospective	Not stated	Range: 3–7 d	Not stated
Saulsbury13 (1999)	100	Retrospective	1.6b	Mean: 8.9 d (range: 5–28 d)	Mean: 8.5 d (range: 1–40 d)
Temmel etal16 (1993)	86	Retrospective	2	1 wk, weaning over 1 wk	At diagnosis (30%), at onset of  abdominal pain (70%)
Saulsbury12 (1993)	69	Retrospective	1.7c	Mean: 8 d (range: 5–10 d)	Mean: 5 d (range: 1–19 d)
Dawodand Akl17 (1990)	40	Retrospective	1–2	Mean: 7 d (range: 3–30 d)	Not stated
Buchanec etal22 (1988)	39	Retrospective	1–2.5	10 d, weaning over 1–2 wk	At diagnosis
Buchanec etal15 (1987)	33	Retrospective	1–2.5	10 d, weaning over 1–2 wk	At diagnosis
Rosenblum and Winter19 (1987)	43	Retrospective	1–2	Not stated	<1 wk(75%), < 12 d (96%)

Shown is a summary of the 15 included articles’ study design, corticosteroid dose, duration of treatment, and timing of treatment in respect to diagnosis.

^aDose was increased to 3 to 5 mg/kg per day if abdominalpain was present for >24 hours.

^bMean dose: 1.6 mg/kg per day (range: 1.2–2.0 mg/kg per day).

^cMean dose: 1.7 mg/kg per day (range: 1.3–2.1 mg/kg per day).