Intra-articular thiotepa in rheumatoid arthritis.

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Abstract
Intra-articular injections of Thiotepa into rheumatoid finger-joints produced some clinical improvement which was still apparent after 6 months. Control joints injected with procaine showed a similar improvement. Histologically, Thiotepa reduced the numbers of inflammatory cells in the treated synovia, while intra-articular injections of larger doses into knee joints produced a fall in rheumatoid factor titer both in the synovial fluid and in the blood. Despite the theoretical attractions of administering cytotoxic drugs directly into rheumatoid joints, and the marked histological changes which this produced. Injecting Thiotepa into rheumatoid finger joints, as carried out in this trial, is not a worth-while procedure.