Sulfasalazine and 5-ASA drugs have similar steroid-sparing properties. Disease-specific hospitalizations are approximately 100 times more common in ulcerative colitis patients than are serious adverse drug effects. Considerations of drug efficacy should therefore dominate the choice between therapeutic agents.

It's important to drink plenty of fluids while on therapy and avoid taking the drug on an empty stomach or with antacids. Sulfasalazine can affect folate absorption, so you should also take folic acid (1 mg per day) while taking the medication and if you are pregnant, you should take 2 mg of folic acid a day.

Advertisement. It is best to take this medicine right after meals, at evenly spaced times throughout the day and night. Try not to let more than 8 hours go by between doses, even at night. Swallow the enteric-coated tablet whole.

Sulfasalazine is used to treat bowel inflammation, diarrhea (stool frequency), rectal bleeding, and abdominal pain in patients with ulcerative colitis, a condition in which the bowel is inflamed.

The most common side effect of sulfasalazine is headache, and this is the main reason why some patients cannot take the drug. Also common are indigestion, nausea and watery diarrhoea, as well as mild allergic reactions such as rash, itchiness and fever.

Dyspepsia, nausea and abdominal discomfort were the most common side-effects, although rashes (3) and macrocytosis (2) also occurred. Eighteen of the 21 patients treated with penicillamine improved during 9 months, although there was some deterioration at 1 year.

Sulfasalazine belongs to a class of drugs referred to as sulfa drugs. It contains salicylate and the sulfa antibiotic. Sulfasalazine treats the disease process, not just the symptoms of RA, and thus it is classified as a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD).

For men with IBD, sulfasalazine can decrease sperm counts and sperm motility, causing a functional azoospermia; the other aminosalicylates do not have this effect. The sperm effects are reversible by discontinuing the sulfasalazine.

Infections warning: Sulfasalazine may increase your risk of infections by lowering your body's immunity. Call your doctor right away if you have signs of an infection, such as a fever, sore throat, or paleness.