Table 3. The number of users of examined medicines among patients with rheumatoid and seropositive arthritis one year before and after the first dispense of LDN.
| Number of users | Difference | p | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before | % | After | % | % points | 95%CI | |||
| All examined medicines | LDN x 1 | 104 | (99.0) | 100 | (95.2) | -3.8 | (-7.5 to -0.2) | 0.050 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 70 | (93.3) | 73 | (97.3) | 4.0 | (-1.8 to 9.8) | 0.159 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 170 | (94.4) | 164 | (91.1) | 0.0 | (-7.7 to 1.0) | 0.128 | |
| DMARD | LDN x 1 | 70 | (66.7) | 69 | (65.7) | -1.0 | (-9.1 to 7.2) | 0.389 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 44 | (58.7) | 48 | (64.0) | 5.3 | (-3.6 to 14.3) | 0.202 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 94 | (52.2) | 82 | (45.6) | -6.7 | (-12.3 to -1.0) | 0.028 | |
| NSAIDs | LDN x 1 | 73 | (69.5) | 63 | (60.0) | -9.5 | (-18.1 to -1.0) | 0.037 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 53 | (70.7) | 47 | (62.7) | -8.0 | (-18.3 to 2.3) | 0.125 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 121 | (67.2) | 114 | (63.3) | -3.9 | (-10.5 to 2.7) | 0.205 | |
| Analgesics | LDN x 1 | 79 | (75.2) | 80 | (76.2) | 1.0 | (-5.2 to 7.1) | 0.381 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 55 | (73.3) | 58 | (77.3) | 4.0 | (-7.4 to 15.4) | 0.314 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 115 | (63.9) | 107 | (59.4) | -4.4 | (-10.4 to 1.5) | 0.136 | |
| Corticosteroids | LDN x 1 | 53 | (50.5) | 53 | (50.5) | 0.0 | (-9.1 to 9.1) | 0.399 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 25 | (33.3) | 25 | (33.3) | 0.0 | (-11.1 to 11.1) | 0.399 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 62 | (34.4) | 54 | (30.0) | -4.4 | (-10.6 to 1.7) | 0.145 | |
| TNF-α antagonists | LDN x 1 | 15 | (14.3) | 12 | (11.4) | -2.9 | (-7.8 to 2.1) | 0.208 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 9 | (12.0) | 11 | (14.7) | 2.7 | (-2.5 to 7.9) | 0.240 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 22 | (12.2) | 17 | (9.4) | -2.8 | (-5.2 to -0.4) | 0.030 | |
| Other DMARDs | LDN x 1 | 42 | (40.0) | 39 | (37.1) | -2.9 | (-10.5 to 4.8) | 0.306 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 29 | (38.7) | 31 | (41.3) | 2.7 | (-5.6 to 10.9) | 0.326 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 57 | (31.7) | 45 | (25.0) | -6.7 | (-10.3 to -3.0) | 0.001 | |
| Opioids | LDN x 1 | 54 | (51.4) | 55 | (52.4) | 1.0 | (-6.7 to 8.7) | 0.387 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 42 | (56.0) | 39 | (52.0) | -4.0 | (-15.4 to 7.4) | 0.314 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 77 | (42.8) | 57 | (31.7) | -11.1 | (-19.0 to -3.3) | 0.008 | |
| Other analgesics | LDN x 1 | 60 | (57.1) | 64 | (61.0) | 3.8 | (-2.1 to 9.7) | 0.177 |
| LDN x 2–3 | 36 | (48.0) | 43 | (57.3) | 9.3 | (-1.2 to 19.9) | 0.089 | |
| LDN x 4+ | 88 | (48.9) | 85 | (47.2) | -1.7 | (-7.1 to 3.8) | 0.333 | |
LDN, low dose naltrexone. DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug. NSAID, a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug. Three groups based on number of LDN dispenses: LDN ×1 (N = 105) collected LDN once, LDN ×2–3 (N = 75) two or three times and LDN ×4+ (N = 180) four or more times. Other DMARDs include methotrexate, antimalarials, aminosalicylates and leflunomide. DMARDs is the sum of TNF-α antagonists, systemic corticosteroids and other DMARDs. Other analgesics include paracetamol/acetaminophen and other non-opioid analgesics