The effectiveness and pharmacoeconomic study of using different corticosteroids in the treatment of hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are caused by inflammation and/or fibrosis of alveolar walls resulting in impaired gas exchange. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is the third most common type of ILDs. Corticosteroids are the mainstay treatment for HP. The use of intramuscular (IM) betamethasone or intravenous (IV) dexamethasone as weekly pulse doses has shown higher benefit than daily oral prednisolone for HP patients. The aim of this study is to directly compare different corticosteroids in terms of effectiveness and in monetary values and perform an economic evaluation.