A Triple Therapeutic Regiment Consisted of Colchicine, Thalidomide and Total Glucosides of Paeony Is Effective and Well-Tolerated for Treating Mucocutaneous Involvement in Patients With Behcet's Disease

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of a triple therapy consisting of colchicine, thalidomide and total glucosides of paeony (TGP) in Behcet's disease (BD) patients with mucocutaneous involvement.

Methods: Totally 355 newly diagnosed BD patients with mucocutaneous involvement were recruited, who received dexamethasone and colchicine for the first 2 weeks, then they were categorized into "sustained triple-therapy (ST)" (n = 231) and "colchicine to triple-therapy (CT)" (n = 124) groups respectively: for ST group, patients received colchicine, thalidomide plus TGP from Month (M)0.5 to M12; for CT group, patients received colchicine from M0.5 to M2, then switched to colchicine, thalidomide plus TGP from M3 to M12.

Results: The percentages of oral ulceration (at M1, M2) and genital ulceration (at M1) were lower in ST group compared to CT group, whereas there was no difference of other clinical manifestations (including uveitis, erythema nodosum, thrombosis, arterial involvement or nervous system involvement) at each time point between the two groups. For biochemical indexes, ESR was higher at M1 but rapidly reduced at M2 in ST group compared to CT group, while CRP level was similar at all time points between the two groups. For side effects, occurrences of drug-related cytopenia and diarrhea were increased, in ST group compared to CT group.

Conclusions: A triple therapy consisting of colchicine, thalidomide and TGP is more effective and equally tolerated compared to colchicine alone in treating BD patients with mucocutaneous involvement.