Aminobenzoate Potassium Improves Mortality in Patients with Scleroderma

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Aminobenzoate Potassium Improves Mortality in Patients with Scleroderma

Category: 20 Scleroderma, fibrosing syndromes

Amy C Cannella, C Reading, O Clegg

University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT

Presentation Number: 917

Poster Board Number: 382

Keywords: Scleroderma, Aminobenzoate Potassium, Progressive

Systemic Sclerosis

In 1993, we reported the results of a randomized, double

blind placebo controlled trial comparing aminobenzoate potassium (KPAB)

to placebo, assessing skin thickening in 146 patients with relatively

longstanding stable scleroderma1. The study did not show improvement in

skin scores in either group. We report a ten-year follow-up of this

unique patient cohort. The study was approved by the institutional

review board.

Social security records were accessed to determine any

patients who were deceased and death certificates were obtained. Each of

the remaining patients was contacted by mail and requested to respond to

a brief questionnaire detailing the course and treatment of their

disease. Included was a request for permission to contact the patient by

telephone to review the results of the questionnaire. Patients that

could not be located were sought initially by an Internet search and

subsequently through a professional search organization.

The cohort of 144 was divided into two groups. The treatment

group had to have taken at least three months of KPAB during the

original clinical trial. There were 70 patients in the KPAB group and 74

in the group that did not receive KPAB. No differences were noted

between the groups in terms of age, gender, race, Functional Assessment

at baseline or Physician Assessment at baseline.

We were able to determine the current status of 144 of the

original 146 patients. The age, race and gender adjusted standard

mortality for each group follows:

KPAB No KPAB Intergroup

N 70 74

Expected mortality 5.29 6.00

Actual mortality 18.00 32.00

Ratio 3.40 5.33 1.57

The ratio of the two groups is 1.57 indicating that an

individual is 57 % more likely to die in the no KPAB group than the KPAB

group.

In a ten-year follow-up of scleroderma patients who

participated in a trial to evaluate the efficacy of KPAB, the mortality

rate of KPAB patients was significantly less (p=0.0269) than patients

who did not take KPAB.

1. J Rheumatol(1994)21:105-110.