Amjad Taqweem, Ibrar Ahmed, Nowsherwan, Zafar Ali, Amjad Mehboob.
Short-term effectiveness of leflunomide in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis.
J Postgrad Med Inst Jan ;24(2):153-9.

Objective: To measure the effectiveness of 6-month treatment with Leflunomide in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in Medical B Unit, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar from August 2008 to August 2009 and included 103 active Rheumatoid Arthritis patients who received Leflunomide 20mg daily for 6 months. The primary effectiveness endpoint was a ?20% response according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria 20 and disease activity score 28 response after 6 months. Results: All the 103 selected patients were treated with Leflunomide. The mean age was 56.12% ± 4.796 years. According to the disease activity score 28, 46.6% of patients had a good response, 41.7% had a moderate response and 11.7% were non-responders. Improvements in tender joint count were –8.63 ± 3.418 (from baseline of 15.74 ± 2.9), in swollen joint count were –4.26 ±3.058 (from baseline of 9.34 ± 2.383), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate improves to 14.74± 11.527 from baseline of 60.58 ± 9.608 and physical global assessment improves to 17.38± 15.35 from baseline of 70.24 ± 7.933. The American College of Rheumatology criteria 20 response criteria show improvement in 87.4% patients. Treatment related adverse events were reported in 23.3% of patients. 17% of total patients discontinue the due to non compliance and side effects. Conclusion: This 6-month study carried out under daily routine practice conditions showed a favorable treatment response for Leflunomide in a dose of 20 mg daily in a typical sample of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients.

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