Trial reportAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2006
Efficacy of sulfasalazine in patients with inflammatory back pain due to undifferentiated spondyloarthritis and early ankylosing spondylitis: a multicentre randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 171 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guideline
- Korean treatment recommendations for patients with axial spondyloarthritis.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2023Guideline
- Pooled it
- [Long version on the S3 guidelines for axial spondyloarthritis including Bechterew's disease and early forms, Update 2019 : Evidence-based guidelines of the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh) and participating medical scientific specialist societies and other organizations].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2019Guideline
- Sulfasalazine for ankylosing spondylitis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- [German Society for Rheumatology S3 guidelines on axial spondyloarthritis including Bechterew's disease and early forms: 8.4 Pharmaceutical therapy, 8.5 Evaluation of therapy success of pharmaceutical measures].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2014Guideline
- 2010 update of the ASAS/EULAR recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2011Pooled it
- Trial
- Long-term outcome of patients with active ankylosing spondylitis with etanercept-sustained efficacy and safety after seven years.Arthritis research & therapy · 2013Trial
- Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial with adalimumab for treatment of juvenile onset ankylosing spondylitis (JoAS): significant short term improvement.Arthritis research & therapy · 2012Trial
- Effects of etanercept versus sulfasalazine in early axial spondyloarthritis on active inflammatory lesions as detected by whole-body MRI (ESTHER): a 48-week randomised controlled trial.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2011Trial
- Korean College of Rheumatology treatment recommendations for patients with axial spondyloarthritis: 2026 update.Journal of rheumatic diseases · 2026Article
- Ambiguities in the effect of physical activity on bone remodelling in spondyloarthritis.Reumatologia · 2026Review
- Rationale and concerns for using JAK inhibitors in axial spondyloarthritis.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2024Review
- Cause analysis of conversion to biologics in spondyloarthritis patients with poor response to conventional treatment.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Article
- Short-Term Efficacy and Adverse Effects of Sulfasalazine in the Management of Axial Spondyloarthropathy.Cureus · 2023Article
- Korean treatment recommendations for patients with axial spondyloarthritis.Journal of rheumatic diseases · 2023Review
- Spondyloarthropathy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: From Pathophysiology to Pharmacological Targets.Drugs · 2022Article
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease-related Spondyloarthritis: The Last Unexplored Territory of Rheumatology.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2022Review
- Australian Consensus Statements for the Assessment and Management of Non-radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis.Rheumatology and therapy · 2022Article
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
19 authors at 12 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess the effect of sulfasalazine (SSZ) on inflammatory back pain (IBP) due to active undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA) or ankylosing spondylitis in patients with symptom duration <5 years.
methodsPatients with IBP and a Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) >3 from 12 centres were randomly assigned to 24 weeks' treatment with SSZ 2 g/day or placebo. The primary outcome variable was the change in BASDAI over 6 months. Secondary outcomes included measures of spinal pain, physical function and inflammation.
results230 patients (50% men, age range 18-64 years, 67% human leucocyte antigen B27 positive) were treated with either SSZ 2x1 g/day or placebo for 6 months. Enthesitis was found in 50%, and peripheral arthritis in 47% of the patients. The mean (SD) BASDAI dropped markedly in both groups: by 3.7 (2.7) and 3.8 (2.4), respectively, as did most secondary outcome measures. No noticeable difference in treatment was observed between groups. Patients with IBP and no peripheral arthritis had significantly (p = 0.03) more benefit with SSZ (BASDAI 5.1 (1.3) to 2.8 (2.3)) than with placebo (5.2 (1.6) to 3.8 (2.4)). Spinal pain (p = 0.03) and morning stiffness (p = 0.05) improved with SSZ in these patients, but other secondary outcomes were not markedly different.
conclusionSSZ was no better than placebo for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of uSpA; however, SSZ was more effective than placebo in the subgroup of patients with IBP and no peripheral arthritis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.