Role of Steroids in the Treatment of Infectious Mononucleosis in the Ambulatory College Student

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Abstract
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed to compare the effect of steroid treatment with placebo on the resolution of clinical symptoms and physical findings in infectious mononucleosis (IM). Forty-seven college students, aged 18–28 years, were entered into the study, of whom 26 were assigned to the steroid group and 21 to the placebo group. A positive mono-spot test and a clinical mononucleosis syndrome were required for entry into the study. Patients were evaluated at days 0, 7, and 28 for symptoms, physical findings, and performance on the Beck Depression inventory. The symptoms which were analyzed included fatigue, anorexia, difficulty swallowing, excessive pharyngeal secretions, inability to concentrate, decreased social activity, and loss of time from class due to illness. Physical findings which were analyzed included tonsillar erythema, edema and exudate, cervical and submandibular adenopathy, and enlarged liver or spleen. No significant difference was found between the steroid and placebo groups in rapidity of resolution or improvement of symptoms or physical findings at the one- or four-week follow-up visits. In addition, there was no significant difference between steroid and placebo groups on the Beck Depression Inventory at the one- or four-week follow-up visits. “Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia.” Major advances in the understanding and definition of the hyperlipidemias have occurred during the past 15 years. Treatment of the common forms of hyperlipidemia, including hypertriglyceridemia, is often undertaken to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, although current data do not definitively demonstrate that such therapy achieves its objectives. It is possible to normalize or substantially reduce elevated triglyceride levels in the majority of persons using dietary intervention and/or medications. The frequency with which hypertriglyceridemia is diagnosed in the population, the controversy concerning the association of plasma triglyceride levels and cardiovascular disease, and the potential need for lifelong therapy have made consideration of this topic timely. To resolve some of these questions, the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, convened a Consensus Development Conference on the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia on Sept 27 to 29, 1983. After 1½ days of expert presentation of the available data, a consensus panel consisting of lipidologists, cardiologists, primary care physicians, epidemiologists, and experts in exercise considered the evidence and agreed on answers to the following questions: