Clinical efficacy and safety of thalidomide on refractory rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of thalidomide on refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Sixty-nine patients with refractory RA were selected, and they administrated thalidomide for 6 months as continuous treatment. The time of morning stiffness, joint swelling, joint tenderness, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) before and after treatment were observed. Results In 69 patients with refractory RA, 29 cases got markedly improvement (42%), 22 cases were improved (32%), 11 cases were partially alleviated (16%), while treatment was ineffective in 7 cases (10%), and the total effective rate was 74%. After treatment, the clinical symptoms and auxiliary examinations of patients were significantly improved (P<0.01). There were 24 cases of drowsiness, 6 cases of dizziness and 3 cases of dry mouth, the symptoms disappeared spontaneously after 6 weeks of continuous treatment. Conclusions Thalidomide can significantly improve the condition of patients with refractory RA, with less adverse reactions, it is especially suitable for other patients with poor curative effect and limited economic conditions, and is worthy of clinical application. Key words: Thalidomide; Rheumatoid arthritis; Curative effect