A new pyrazolidine derivative - benetazone spofa - in short- and medium-term treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. (Double-blind comparative study with phenylbutazone).

The effects of Benetazone Spofa (trimethazone) in a dose of 1000 mg/day with those of phenylbutazone in a dose of 600 mg day in patients with rheumatoid arthritis were tested in a short-term double-blind trial (3 weeks) and in a long-term double-blind trial (12 weeks). The short-term trial failed to disclose a significant superior effect of phenylbutazone, and the continued prolonged therapy showed, on the contrary, the higher effectiveness of the new derivative, but the difference was not statistically significant. The main advantage of Benetazone consisted of its lower toxicity, better tolerance and of the much lower tendency to produce fluid retention compared to phenylbutazone.