This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Sulphasalazine and ulcerative colitis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Sulphasalazine is metabolised by colonic bacteria and azo-reduction to produce sulpha (sulphahydrine) and salicylate moities (5-aminosalicylic acid, 5-ASA) in the colonic lumen (1)

Various points have been noted about the usefulness of sulphasalazine:

  • sulphasalazine and 5-ASA have been found to be therapeutically equivalent (2)

  • the efficacy of sulphasalazine is limited by substantial dose-related intolerance in addition to allergic and toxic reactions to the sulpha component

  • sulphasalazine is commonly used in those patients with concomitant joint disease (2)

Reference:

  • Azad Khan AK,Piris J,Truelove SC (1977). An experiment to determine the active therapeutic moiety of sulphasalazine, Lancet, 2, 892-5.
  • Prescriber (2001), 12 (20), 43-58.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.