Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Thalidomide and Sulfasalazine in Moderate to Severe Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Real-World Study From Bangladesh

The present study included patients aged \>18 years with inflammatory low back pain fulfilling the Modified New York criteria \[12\], 2014 for moderate to severe ankylosing spondylitis. The criteria include radiographic sacroiliitis (at least grade II bilaterally or grade III unilaterally) along with clinical signs, such as inflammatory back pain for at least 3 months' duration, limitation of lumbar spine in sagittal and frontal planes, or chest expansion decreased relative to normal values for age and sex. Exclusion criteria were non-inflammatory back pain or back pain due to inflammatory causes other than AS, failure to confirm a washout period of four weeks, those who were on DMARDs, allergy to thalidomide, Sulfasalazine, and NSAIDs, known to have kidney diseases or cardiac disease, active peptic ulcer disease, and pregnancy.