Comparison of therapy in severe systemic lupus erythematosus employing stratification techniques.

Randomized studies, attempting to clarify the role of combined azathioprine and prednisone therapy versus prednisone alone in severe systemic lupus erythematosus have sustained rather than mollified a clinical controversy. No differences have been detected in some studies, while others have appeared to show benefit with addition of azathioprine. The present study suggests that neither small random trials nor uncorrected clinical experience can be expected to provide truly comparable control groups in conditions as variable as systemic lupus, but that stratification techniques can yield relatively similar groups. Patients meeting different entry characteristics are demonstrated to come to different outcomes. Depending upon the specifications of a subgroup, one therapy or another appears better.