Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology

The Bullous Pemphigoid Steroids and Tetracyclines (BLISTER) Study


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Professor Hywel Williams discusses the results of the BLISTER trial (duration: 3mins 30sec)
 
6 MAR 2017 - We are pleased to announce that the BLISTER study has now been published in The Lancet. 

The University of Nottingham have issued a Press Release to accompany the publication of the results.

Overview

Bullous pemphigoid is a condition which results in tense, itchy blisters on the skin. In the BLISTER Study we assessed whether doxycycline (a member of the tetracycline family of antibiotics) was a useful alternative to prednisolone (a corticosteroid) for treating bullous pemphigoid.

Chief Investigator: Professor Hywel Williams, University of Nottingham
Lead Clinician: Professor Fenella Wojnarowska, University of Oxford. 

The trial was run in collaboration with the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit (NCTU), the UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network (UK DCTN) and the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit (MRC CTU). 

The study team would like to thank all the patients who took part in the BLISTER study and all the staff at the recruiting sites, without whom this trial would not have been possible.

Background

Key information

1. What is bullous pemphigoid?
 
2. What treatments did the BLISTER study test?
 
3. How many patients took part?
 
4. What did the studies involve?
 
5. What were the key results?
 
6. What do the findings of the BLISTER study mean?
 
 

BLISTER Publications

Doxycycline versus prednisolone as an initial treatment strategy for bullous pemphigoid: a pragmatic, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial. Williams, Wojnarowska, Kirtschig et al. The Lancet. 2017.

A randomised controlled trial to compare the safety, effectiveness and cost effectiveness of doxycycline (200 mg/day) with oral prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/day) for initial treatment of bullous pemphigoid: the Bullous Pemphigoid Steroids and Tetracyclines (BLISTER) Trial. Chalmers JR, Wojnarowska F, Kirtschig G, Mason J, Childs M, Whitham D, et al. Health Technol Assess 2017;21(10)                         

The value of the pragmatic-explanatory continuum indicator summary wheel in an ongoing study: the bullous pemphigoid steroids and tetracyclines study. Bratton DJ, Nunn AJ, Wojnarowska F, Kirtschig G, Sandell A, Williams HC. Trials. 2012;13:50.

When inferiority meets non-inferiority: implications for interim analyses. Bratton DJ, Williams HC, Kahan BC, Phillips PP, Nunn AJ.  Clin Trials. 2012;9(5):605-609.

A randomised controlled trial to compare the safety and effectiveness of doxycycline (200 mg/day) with oral prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/day) for initial treatment of bullous pemphigoid: A protocol for the Bullous Pemphigoid Steroids and Tetracyclines (BLISTER) Trial. Chalmers JR, Wojnarowska F, Kirtschig G, et al.  Br J Dermatol. 2015;173(1):227-34.


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This webpage presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme (project number 06/403/51). The views and opinions expressed on this webpage are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the HTA programme, NIHR, the National Health Service or the Department of Health.

Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology

The University of Nottingham
Applied Health Research Building
University Park, Nottingham
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telephone: +44 (0) 115 84 68631
email: cebd@nottingham.ac.uk