Iguratimod efficacy in palindromic rheumatism treatment

BACKGROUND: As a new immunomodulator for rheumatoid arthritis, iguratimod (IGU) also has therapeutic potential in other immune diseases. In this study, we determined the effects of IGU on disease control in patients with palindromic rheumatism (PR). METHODS: Patients with PR were divided into Control group (Ctrl group) and an IGU treatment (IGU group) groups. Drug efficacy was evaluated according to the frequency of PR attacks (monthly), the visual analog scale (VAS) score of patient pain, and clinical symptoms. RESULTS: The drug positivity and disease control rates of the IGU group (100.00% and 90.91%, respectively) were significantly higher than those of the Ctrl group (61.11% and 5.56%; p = .002 and p < .001, respectively). The median number of PR flares and the VAS score of patients in the Ctrl group decreased from 3.00 (1.00–15.00) to 0.83 (0.00–12.00) and from 5 (4–6) to 4 (1–6), respectively. In the IGU group, the median number of PR attacks decreased from 4.50 (2.00–15.00) to 0.00 (0.00–0.33), and the VAS score decreased from 5 (4–6) to 0 (0–2). The IGU group exhibited a significant reduction in PR flare frequency and improvement in the VAS value (p < .001 and p < .001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study is the first to describe the efficacy of IGU in PR treatment. IGU can significantly reduce the number of PR flares and improve the clinical symptoms of patients with PR.