[Long-term tolerance of oral gold therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. Frequency and intensity of undesirable side effects].

In view of encouraging results from various reliable multicenter studies, an interesting new oral agent, auranofin (triethylphosphine gold), is believed to be a major advance towards more effective treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with mild adverse reactions. The present study evaluates the long-term efficacy of auranofin in 46 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and attempts to delineate further the results of drug monitoring concerning adverse reactions. Six patients withdrew due to untoward and partially serious events, e.g. thrombocytopenia, colitis or pancreatic disease. In view of the high frequency of side effects which required immediate withdrawal of auranofin in 13%, with a total of 37% of patients experiencing adverse reactions, it should be kept in mind that oral gold therapy may be a two-edged sword and requires further critical drug monitoring.