Auranofin in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. An open label, non-controlled study.

An open label, non-controlled trial of six-month duration was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of auranofin in the treatment of 13 children with polyarticular JRA. Adverse reactions were observed in 5 of the 13 patients (38%) but only in one was it serious enough to discontinue treatment. None of the patients developed diarrhea or hematologic abnormalities. Therapeutic response was evaluated in the 11 patients who completed the six-month treatment. According to the final overall assessment 9 of the 11 children had improved, one remained unchanged and one worsened. After four months of treatment serum gold levels in 11 patients ranged between 28 and 59 micrograms/dl, with a mean value of 34 micrograms/dl. There was no correlation between serum gold levels and the frequency and severity of side effects.