Curative effect of diaphoresis-inducing and dampness-removing prescription for rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of diaphoresis-inducing and dampness-removing prescription on rheumatoid arthritis（RA）. Methods One hundred and twenty patients with established RA were randomly divided into control group（n=57） and treatment group（n=63）.Patients in control group were treated with oral methotrexate（MTX） plus nimesulide and those in treatment were treated with MTX plus diaphoresis-inducing and dampness-removing prescription.Disease activity in 28 joints was scored 30 days before treatment,and 30 and 90 days after treatment. Results The total effective rates were significantly higher for treatment group 30 and 90 days after treatment than for control group 30 days after treatment（71.7% and 88.3% vs 49.1% and 73.6%,P＜0.05）. Conclusion Combined diaphoresis-inducing and dampness-removing prescription and MTX is a reliable effective therapy for RA.