Table 5

Strength Outcomes. Studies Comparing Deflazacort and Prednisone.

Study (Duration of Follow up)
A. Bonifati, 2000 (12 months)
F. Angelini, 1998 (12 months)
N. Brooke, 1996 (3 months)

Strength Measures

MRC score * (mean change in score from baseline)
DFZ: + 1 Pred: + 0.5 No variance or P values reported.
-
-
Average Muscle score * (mean change in score from baseline)
-
-
DFZ (low): +0.18 (+/- 0.4) DFZ (high): +0.26 (+/- 0.5) Pred: +0.27 (+/- 0.5) Standard errors imputed from p values.

Functional Measures

Timed gait
Measured but not reported.
-
-
Timed stairs
-
-
-
Timed chair
-
-
-
Timed Gower
-
-
-
Graded gait **
DFZ: - 0.5 Pred: -0.5 Combined score from all four tests. No variance or p values reported.
-
-
Graded stairs **
-
-
-
Graded chair **
-
-
-
Graded Gower **
-
-
-

Other Measures

Patient reported benefit
-
Patients reported benefit on both prednisone and DFZ. No numeric representation of reported benefit was reported.
-

A dash represents that this outcome measure was not used. MRC = Medical Research Council * For MRC score, MRC index and muscle score higher scores are more favorable. ** For Graded scores a lower score is more favorable.

Campbell and Jacob BMC Neurology 2003 3:7   doi:10.1186/1471-2377-3-7