Table 3 DMARD use in the follow‐up period from SSZ trial inclusion to review for follow‐up of 61 juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients who participated in a placebo‐controlled sulfasalazine trial13*.
| Variable | Placebo group n = 29 | Sulfasalazine group n = 32 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medication use in follow‐up period | |||
| No. of DMARDS used in follow‐up period, median (range) | 2 (0 to 5) | 1.5 (1 to 5) | NS |
| No. (%) of patients with SSZ use | 24 (83) | 32 (100) | 0.02 |
| Duration of SSZ use in years, median (IQR) | 5.2 (2.1 to 8.0) | 2.5 (0.5 to 4.9) | 0.02 |
| No. (%) of patients with MTX use | 16 (55) | 15 (47) | NS |
| Duration of MTX use in years, median (IQR) | 4.0 (3.0 to 5.8) | 3.0 (1.5 to 5.0) | NS |
| No. (%) of patients with prednisone use | 3 (10) | 2 (6) | NS |
| Duration of prednisone use in years, median (IQR) | 2.0 (2.0 to 6.0) | 0.9 (0.3 to 1.5) | NS |
| No. (%) of patients with intramuscular gold use | 3 (10) | 5 (16) | NS |
| Duration of intramuscular gold use in years, median (IQR) | 4.0 (1.5 to 7.0) | 1.5 (0.5 to 2.8) | NS |
| No. (%) of patients with hydroxychloroquine use | 0 | 3 (9) | – |
| Duration of hydroxychloroquine use in years, median (IQR) | 0 | 6.2 (0.1 to 6.5) | – |
| No. of patients with use of other DMARDs† | 1 | 1 | – |
| Current medication use | |||
| No. (%) of patients with current DMARD use | 21 (72) | 17 (53) | NS |
| No. of patients with current use of: | |||
| SSZ monotherapy | 10 | 4 | – |
| SSZ in combination treatment | 4 MTX | 2 MTX | – |
| MTX monotherapy | 6 | 8 | – |
| MTX in combination treatment | 4 SSZ, 1 prednisone | 2 SSZ, 1 HCQ | – |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 0 | 1 | – |
| Antitumor necrosis factor | 0 | 1 | – |
*SSZ, sulfasalazine; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; †other DMARDs included: in 1 PLAC patient: 9 months' treatment with ciclosporin and an autologous bone marrow transplantation,27 respectively in 1 SSZ patient: 6 months of leflunomide treatment followed by recent introduction of anti‐TNF‐treatment.