Pilot study of etretinate in psoriatic arthritis.
A 2-center pilot study compared clinical and laboratory outcomes in 40 patients with psoriatic arthritis before and after treatment for 8 to 24 weeks with the vitamin A derivative, etretinate. The number of tender joints fell from 22.0 +/- 8.75 before treatment to 11.44 +/- 8.50 after treatment (p = .000). The duration of morning stiffness was 101.95 +/- 62.45 min before therapy and 44.53 +/- 82.10 min after treatment (p = 0.0004). Similar highly clinically and statistically significant improvement was seen in all clinical outcome measures and in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Primarily mucocutaneous side effects were seen in 39/40 patients and resulted in treatment termination before 24 weeks in 9 patients.
Division of Dermatology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, ON, Canada.
A V
AV
Klinkhoff
E
E
Gertner
A
A
Chalmers
D D
DD
Gladman
W D
WD
Stewart
G D
GD
Schachter
R K
RK
Schachter
D001168:Arthritis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005050:Etretinate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced
D005050:Etretinate