Acetylator phenotypes in rheumatoid arthritis patients with or without adverse drug reactions to sodium-aurothiomalate or d-penicillamine.

The acetylator phenotype was determined in 59 patients with classical, seropositive and erosive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with sodium-aurothiomalate or d-penicillamine. Patients with adverse drug reactions (ADR) leading to drug withdrawal (n = 29) were compared with a group of patients without ADR (n = 30). The frequency of slow acetylators was significantly (p less than 0.05) increased in all RA patients, irrespective of the presence of ADR, particularly in the male patients, compared with a control population. No association was found between acetylator phenotype and clinical data or secondary Sjögrens's syndrome (SS).