Does steroid pulsing influence the efficacy and toxicity of chrysotherapy? A double blind, placebo controlled study.

To test the hypothesis that early steroid pulsing augments the efficacy and decreases the toxicity of chrysotherapy 40 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were studied in a double blind, placebo controlled study. During the first three months of gold treatment group 1 received monthly intravenous methylprednisolone pulsing (steroid group) while group 2 received placebo (placebo group). All patients were assessed clinically and serologically over a 24 week period. Twelve patients were withdrawn before completion of the study and all but one of the remaining 28 patients reported clinical and serological improvements. Two patients in the steroid group were withdrawn owing to gold induced side effects while four were withdrawn in the placebo group. These small numbers were not significantly different. Minor side effects occurred more commonly in the placebo group. The clinical response was clearly better in the steroid group with statistical significance almost being achieved. In an endeavour to obtain a significant conclusion further patients will now be entered into this study.