Figure 3.

Corticosteroid (six-phase) treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Notes: Initial dosing: 20–40 mg/day of prednisone equivalent for 2–6 weeks; taper to maintenance: over 1–6 months; maintenance dosing: 0.05–0.1 mg/day of prednisone equivalent until 3–9 months after initiation of therapy; taper off corticosteroid therapy: over 1–3 months; monitor for relapse; treatment of relapse: same as initial corticosteroid dosing but additional corticosteroid sparing agents should be strongly considered.

Reproduced with permission from Judson MA. An approach to the treatment of pulmonary sarcoidosis with corticosteroids: the six phases of treatment. Chest. 1999;115(4):1158–1165.2