Methylprednisolone Plus Low-Dose Methotrexate for Bullous Pemphigoid-A Single Center Retrospective Analysis

Monomodal systemic glucocorticoids remain the mainstay of treatment for bullous pemphigoid (BP). In this retrospective, single-arm study, we evaluated the feasibility (efficacy and tolerability) of the combination of methylprednisolone and low-dose (up to 12.5 mg/week) methotrexate (MP + MTX) for BP. At week 12, 53/55 (96.4%) patients initiated on MP + MTX during a five-year period (potential follow up time: ≥4 years) remained on treatment. At this time-point, BP remission was achieved in all compliant patients (including n = 24 cases of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors-associated BP; 12-week remission rate: 100% [95% CI: 91.9-100.0%]; mean time to remission: 29.5 days, SEM: 2.3 days) at a mean cumulative MP dose to disease control of 678.4 mg (SEM = 49.4 mg). Eight patients relapsed during follow up (10.81 [95% CI: 5.16-21.72] relapses/100 person years, py), and seven manifested a severe adverse event (6.80 [95% CI: 3.00-14.28] severe adverse events/100 py); however, 73.4% (±7.9%) had suffered neither a relapse nor a SAE at the three-years follow up. Continuing low dose MP intake (≤8 mg/day) beyond week 12 in combination with MTX minimized the risk of a feasibility limiting event (p = 0.013). Conclusively, the combination of methylprednisolone with methotrexate is a promising, safe, and efficient modality for BP patients, which enables rapid glucocorticoid tapering.