Prednisone and azathioprine in the treatment of patient with vesiculoerosive oral diseases.

Systemic corticosteroids offer the most effective means of treating patients with symptomatic oral vesiculoerosive diseases. However, underlying systemic diseases and adverse side effects limit their use at clinically therapeutic dosages. The purpose of this open clinical trial was to assess the synergistic effect of azathioprine with prednisone, comparing clinical benefits with side effects. Twelve patients were studied. The minimum effective dose of prednisone when azathioprine was never more than 25 mg. daily and ranged as low as 5 mg. daily. This study indicated that azathioprine effectively enhanced corticosteroid activity, allowing lower doses of prednisone with satisfactory clinical efficacy and a marked reduction in side effects.