Secondary clinical outcomes.

Abbreviations: AZA, azathioprine; IFN, interferon.
1P-values for AZA vs. IFN comparison were obtained through χ2 test with one degree of freedom for rate comparison, χ2 test with two degrees of freedom for number of patients with relapses, Fisher's exact test for patients with no confirmed disability progression, and t-test for change in EDSS score.
2The analyses were adjusted for number of relapses during the previous two years, baseline EDSS score, and duration of disease from symptom onset.
3The analyses were based on 56 AZA and 50 IFN patients respectively, because of some missing values.
4A confirmed disability progression was defined as an increase of no less than one point of the EDSS score confirmed at least after six months; 95% CI were estimated through the exact method. All the patients, with the exception of two (who did not report a disability progression), had a baseline EDSS score between 1 and 5.
5Adjusted for baseline EDSS score.
Secondary clinical outcomes.