Table 5.
Drug utilization of HAM-net-registered patients
| Before the initial interview (n = 486) | At the time of the initial interview (n = 486) | In a year until the 2nd-year interview (n = 434) | In a year until the 3rd-year interview (n = 370) | In a year until the 4th-year interview (n = 304) | In a year until the 5th-year interview (n = 257) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral steroid therapy | (+) | 326 (67.1%) | 203 (41.8%) | 209 (48.2%) | 186 (50.3%) | 154 (50.7%) | 124 (48.2%) |
| (−) | 134 (27.6%) | 257 (52.9%) | 214 (49.3%) | 182 (49.2%) | 148 (48.7%) | 130 (50.6%) | |
| unknown | 26 (5.3%) | 26 (5.3%) | 11 (2.5%) | 2 (0.5%) | 2 (0.7%) | 3 (1.2%) | |
|
Methyl- prednisolone pulse therapy |
(+) | 191 (39.3%) | 7 (1.4%) | 33 (7.6%) | 21 (5.7%) | 11 (3.6%) | 10 (3.9%) |
| (−) | 267 (54.9%) | 449 (92.4%) | 391 (90.1%) | 346 (93.5%) | 292 (96.1%) | 244 (94.9%) | |
| unknown | 28 (5.8%) | 30 (6.2%) | 10 (2.3%) | 3 (0.8%) | 1 (0.3%) | 3 (1.2%) | |
| Interferon-α treatment | (+) | 170 (35.0%) | 14 (2.9%) | 15 (3.5%) | 12 (3.2%) | 8 (2.6%) | 8 (3.1%) |
| (−) | 295 (60.7%) | 448 (92.2%) | 410 (94.5%) | 356 (96.2%) | 295 (97.0%) | 247 (96.1%) | |
| unknown | 21 (4.3%) | 24 (4.9%) | 9 (2.1%) | 2 (0.5%) | 1 (0.3%) | 2 (0.8%) |