TERMINATION OF SLOW-ACTING ANTIRHEUMATIC THERAPY IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS - A 14-YEAR PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF 1017 CONSECUTIVE STARTS

  • 1 August 1990
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 17  (8) , 994-1002
Abstract
During a continuous 14-year observation period we prospectively recorded clinical data on all patients with rheumatiod arthritis (RA) attending an outpatient clinic. Six hundred seventy-one patients received 1017 new administrations of slow acting antirheumatic drugs during more than 2000 patient years of observation. The median time to discontination of intramuscular gold, auranofin, hydroxychloroquine or penicillamine was 2 years or less, but was 4.25 years for methotrexate (p = 0.008 vs. all other drugs combined). Adverse reactions were a more common reason for discontinuation than efficacy, and both were less common in patients taking methotrexate (p < 0.01). Neither disease duration, disease severity, or demographic factors were useful predictors of discontinuation. Since controlled clinical trials do not provide longterm outcome assessments, measurement of time to termination is a practical tool to estimate drug inefficacy.