Injectable gold compounds: an overview.

Injectable gold compounds have enjoyed widespread, but occasionally controversial, use in rheumatoid arthritis since the 1920s. This overview examines the data from controlled trials and longer-term observational studies. We conclude that gold is equivalent to other widely used second-line agents in terms of efficacy. Toxicity profiles are similar, apart from methotrexate. It is most efficacious and toxic in the first 2 yr of treatment. There appears to be a dose-response relationship for both efficacy and toxicity. Gold is one of the few agents that decreases the rate of progression of erosions (RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.23-064). Gold compounds, therefore, have a definite place in the rheumatologist's armamentarium, but further research is required to determine optimal monitoring regimes as well as the role of maintenance therapy and combination therapy.