Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: duration of use as a measure of relative value.
To determine if any nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) was superior in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, duration of use of each drug was employed as a measure of combined efficacy and tolerability. Duration was treated as survival data and a proportional hazards model utilized to adjust for differences in disease severity and concomitant antirheumatic therapy. One hundred and sixteen patients took 188 courses of nonsalicylate NSAID during the 3-year study period. The NSAID prescribed included naproxen, ibuprofen, sulindac, indomethacin, piroxicam, and tolmetin. Naproxen was used significantly longer than any other NSAID (p less than 0.001).
Luggen
M E
ME
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, OH.
Gartside
P S
PS
Hess
E V
EV
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013997:Time Factors
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D011241:Prednisone