Key clinical point: Iguratimod as monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate showed clear benefits over methotrexate in improving disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) along with a comparable safety profile.
Major finding: Compared with methotrexate monotherapy, iguratimod monotherapy and iguratimod+methotrexate therapy were associated with more effective improvements in the American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement response rate (risk ratio [RR] 1.15; P = .004; and RR 1.24; P < .00001, respectively) and 28-joint Disease Activity Score based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (mean difference [MD] −0.15; P = .01; and MD −1.43; P < .00001, respectively) with a similar incidence of adverse events.
Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials including 4302 patients with RA who received iguratimod alone, iguratimod with methotrexate, methotrexate alone, or methotrexate with leflunomide or hydroxychloroquine or tripterygium glycosides.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Youth Science Foundation of China and Research Fund of Hunan Province Education Department. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Ouyang D et al. Effectiveness and safety of iguratimod monotherapy or combined with methotrexate in treating rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol . 2022;13:911810 (Aug 5). Doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.911810