Clinical Observation of Maixuekang Capsules Combined with Methotrexate in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

OBJECTIVE:To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Maixuekang capsules combined with methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA). METHODS:65 RA patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. Control group(n=30)was given methotrexate 10 mg,once a week. Treatment group(n=35)was additionally given Maixuekang capsules 1 000 mg,3times a day,on the basis of control group. Clinical symptoms and signs,laboratory index were observed in 2 groups after 30 days treatment,and clinical efficacies were compared. The adverse drug reaction were recorded and observed during treatment. RESULTS:The total effective rate of treatment group was 91.4%,which was significantly higher than in control group(70.0%);there was statistical significance(P0.05). The improvement of swollen joint counts,tender joint count,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,C-reactive protein and blood platelet count in treatment group were significantly better than in control group;there were statistical significances(P0.05). There was no statistical significance in the incidence of adverse drug reaction between 2 groups(P0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Therapeutic efficacy of hirudin combined with methotrexate is better than methotrexate alone in the treatment of RA and improve clinical symptoms and labortaory index of RA patients without side effects.