SHODA Morio
   Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital), School of Medicine
   Position   Endowed Professor
Article types Case report
Language English
Peer review Peer reviewed
Title Combination therapy with corticosteroid and mycophenolate mofetil in a case of refractory cardiac sarcoidosis.
Journal Formal name:Journal of Cardiology Cases
Abbreviation:JCC
ISSN code:18785409
Domestic / ForeginDomestic
Publisher Elsevier
Volume, Issue, Page 13(4),pp.125-128
Author and coauthor KIKUCHI Noriko†, NUNODA Shinichi*, SERIZAWA Naoki, SUZUKI Atsushi, SUZUKI Tsuyoshi, FUKUSHIMA Kenji, UTO Kenta, SHIGA Tsuyoshi, SHODA Morio, HAGIWARA Nobuhisa
Publication date 2016/04
Summary Management of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) can be challenging. The first-line therapy for this condition is corticosteroids, but other immunosuppressive agents are sometimes co-administered to reduce the dosage of corticosteroid and to thereby avoid steroid-induced adverse effects or to increase its therapeutic efficacy. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a prodrug of mycophenolic acid, an inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase that acts more selectively on T and B lymphocytes when compared with azathioprine. A 40-year-old man was diagnosed with CS after presenting with ventricular fibrillation. His left ventricular ejection fraction was severely reduced (30%), and cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) showed abnormal uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. A cardioverter-defibrillator was implanted and prednisolone (30 mg/day) was administered. He was re-admitted with recurrent sustained ventricular tachycardia and a positive PET finding despite a 5-month course of prednisolone, and MMF (1000 mg/day) was administered. Six months later, he had not required re-hospitalization for heart failure or arrhythmia. We conclude that combination therapy with MMF and corticosteroids is useful for refractory CS.

<Learning objective: Management of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) can be challenging. Although some immunosuppressive agents are co-administered to reduce the dosage of corticosteroids or to intensify the effect of corticosteroids, the optimal combination regimen has not yet been established. This case report shows that combination therapy with corticosteroid and mycophenolate mofetil was useful for CS that was refractory to corticosteroid monotherapy.>
DOI doi:10.1016/j.jccase.2015.12.008