COMPARISON OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND PLACEBO IN THE TREATMENT OF THE ARTHROPATHY OF MILD SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS

Objective. To compare the relative safety and efficacy of hydroxychlor oquine (HCQ) and placebo (Pl) in the treatment of the articular compla ints of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods. Seventy-one patie nts with mild SLE requiring less than or equal to 10 mg of prednisone or equivalent daily and with arthritis or arthralgias were entered int o a 48-week prospective, controlled, double blind multicenter trial an d randomly assigned to either HCQ or Pl. Results. Both HCQ and Pl were well tolerated in the 48-week trial. There were no remissions. With t he exception of the patient assessment of joint pain, all other joint measures were similar between the groups. Twenty-nine patients withdre w before the end of the trial although only 2 patients withdrew for ad verse drug effects. Conclusion. Our study found subjective pain relief as the only statistically significant difference in joint count varia bles from HCQ in the treatment of the articular manifestations of SLE.