Conclusion: Corticosteroids may be a helpful treatment intervention in patients with new-onset and relapsing/remitting PANS and PANDAS, hastening symptom improvement or resolution. When corticosteroids are given earlier in a disease flare, symptoms improve more quickly and patients achieve clinical remission sooner. Longer courses of corticosteroids may result in more durable remissions. A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of corticosteroids in PANS is warranted to formally assess treatment efficacy.
Keywords: PANDAS; PANS; corticosteroids; immune modulation; obsessive-compulsive disorder; tics.