Weekly intravenous methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

✍ Scribed by Dr. Robert M. Michaels; David J. Nashel; Andrea Leonard; Anthony J. Sliwinski; Stephen J. Derbes

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1982
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 279 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780250312

✦ Synopsis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are unresponsive to antiinflammatory drugs and slow-acting agents such as gold, hydroxychloroquine, and Dpenicillamine, pose a therapeutic challenge. This report details the effectiveness of weekly intravenous methotrexate in 14 such patients resistant to standard therapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

There were 6 women and 8 men in the study group ranging in age from 48 to 66 years. All met the American Rheumatism Association criteria for the diagnosis of classic rheumatoid arthritis (1). Each participant gave informed consent before entering the program. All had clinical evidence of active disease and had failed to respond to both gold and hydroxychloroquine. In addition, 6 patients were unresponsive to D-penicillamine. Two had failed to improve with immunosuppressive therapy; 1 with azathioprine and From the Divisions of Rheumatology, The Guthrie Clinic,