[Salazosulfapyridine (sulfasalazine)in inflammatory rheumatic diseases]

Salazosulphapyridine is a salicyl derivative of the sulphonamide sulphapyridine. Although its introduction into clinical practice in rheumatology is not recent, only clinical investigations during the last decade proved convincingly its favourable therapeutic effect in rheumatoid arthritis and in some diseases from the group of seronegative spondarthritis. The onset of the therapeutic response after a latency of several weeks, the influence on the laboratory and clinical indicators of the activity of the rheumatic inflammatory response and the concurrent retardation of the development of articular destructive changes on the X-ray picture in some of the patients justify the inclusion of salazosulphapyridine into the group of drugs which modify the course of the disease. The results of hitherto made investigations confirmed also a relatively good tolerance of salazosulphapyridine.