Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1989 Jul;48(7):542–546. doi: 10.1136/ard.48.7.542

Hydroxychloroquine sulphate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a double blind comparison of two dose regimens.

K Pavelka Jr 1, K P Sen 1, Z Pelísková 1, J Vácha 1, K Trnavský 1
PMCID: PMC1003813  PMID: 2673079

Abstract

A controlled, double blind, parallel group, long term study of hydroxychloroquine sulphate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, comparing daily doses of 200 mg and 400 mg, is described. The trial involved 54 patients with moderate disease activity who had not previously received antimalarial drugs. Forty three patients completed the one year treatment. The groups receiving different doses were homogeneous and did not differ in any of the 25 monitored indicators. Both dose regimens were effective, and a significant reduction of disease activity was observed after one year's treatment. Of the nine laboratory and 11 clinical indices of efficacy monitored, no statistically significant differences were reported, but in the group of patients treated with the 400 mg daily dose the number of side effects was three times greater. As there have been no reports of retinopathy with hydroxychloroquine at daily doses of 200 mg the effectiveness of this dose is of practical importance.

Full text

PDF
545

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. 1958 REVISION of diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1959 Feb;2(1):16–20. doi: 10.1002/1529-0131(195902)2:1<16::aid-art1780020104>3.0.co;2-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Amos R. S., Constable T. J., Crockson R. A., Crockson A. P., McConkey B. Rheumatoid arthritis: relation of serum C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rates to radiographic changes. Br Med J. 1977 Jan 22;1(6055):195–197. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6055.195. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bell C. L. Hydroxychloroquine sulfate in rheumatoid arthritis: long-term response rate and predictive parameters. Am J Med. 1983 Jul 18;75(1A):46–51. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(83)91270-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bernstein H. N. Ophthalmologic considerations and testing in patients receiving long-term antimalarial therapy. Am J Med. 1983 Jul 18;75(1A):25–34. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(83)91267-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bunch T. W., O'Duffy J. D., Tompkins R. B., O'Fallon W. M. Controlled trial of hydroxychloroquine and D-penicillamine singly and in combination in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1984 Mar;27(3):267–276. doi: 10.1002/art.1780270304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Day R. O., Sambrook P., Champion G. D., Graham G. G. Antimalarials in rheumatic diseases. Aust N Z J Med. 1982 Dec;12(6):645–649. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1982.tb02658.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Finbloom D. S., Silver K., Newsome D. A., Gunkel R. Comparison of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine use and the development of retinal toxicity. J Rheumatol. 1985 Aug;12(4):692–694. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Frisk-Holmberg M. Variation in chloroquine pharmacokinetics due to assay sensitivity and duration of sampling. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1987;31(6):743–743. doi: 10.1007/BF00541310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Husain Z., Runge L. A. Treatment complications of rheumatoid arthritis with gold, hydroxychloroquine, D-penicillamine, and levamisole. J Rheumatol. 1980 Nov-Dec;7(6):825–830. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. LANSBURY J. Quantitation of the activity of rheumatoid arthritis. 5. A method for summation of the systemic indices of rheumatoid activity. Am J Med Sci. 1956 Sep;232(3):300–310. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McCarty D. J., Carrera G. F. Intractable rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment with combined cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, and hydroxychloroquine. JAMA. 1982 Oct 8;248(14):1718–1723. doi: 10.1001/jama.248.14.1718. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Runge L. A. Risk/benefit analysis of hydroxychloroquine sulfate treatment in rheumatoid arthritis. Am J Med. 1983 Jul 18;75(1A):52–56. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(83)91271-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rynes R. I. Antimalarial treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: 1985 status. J Rheumatol. 1985 Aug;12(4):657–659. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. SIEVERS K., HURRI L. Combined therapy of rheumatoid arthritis with gold and chloroquine. I. Evaluation of the therapeutic effect. Acta Rheumatol Scand. 1963;9:48–55. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sharp J. T., Lidsky M. D., Collins L. C., Moreland J. Methods of scoring the progression of radiologic changes in rheumatoid arthritis. Correlation of radiologic, clinical and laboratory abnormalities. Arthritis Rheum. 1971 Nov-Dec;14(6):706–720. doi: 10.1002/art.1780140605. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES