Hydroxychloroquine treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

A variety of placebo-controlled and open studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The excellent responses to recurrent treatment in a sample patient illustrate the value of hydroxychloroquine. Because low daily doses of hydroxychloroquine are associated with greater ophthalmologic safety, it would be advantageous to use the smallest effective daily dose, but there are no published controlled efficacy studies using daily doses of less than 400 mg. Hydroxychloroquine may best be employed to treat patients with new onset of disease or those in whom disease is not rapidly progressive. Great potential exists for the use of hydroxychloroquine in combination therapy, but optimal utilization of combination regimens will require performances of additional controlled studies.