title: Long term study of ketoprofen SR in elderly patients.
abstract: Elderly patients are often chronically treated with different drugs. As rheumatic conditions are very common in this population, NSAIDs are widely used on a chronic basis. To determine the safety profile of ketoprofen, an international prospective study was set up to monitor the effects of the drug over a 12-month period. Four hundred and sixty five patients were enrolled mostly for osteoarthritis (86%) and rheumatoid arthritis (14%) and received a 200 mg SR tablet o.d. Sex ratio (women/men) was 3/1 and mean age was 70.8 +/- 5.8 years (range: 62-95). The pain as evaluated by the VAS decreased from 50 +/- 2.8 mm at baseline to 20 +/- 1.7 mm at the end of the study. 33.3% of patients complained of side-effects mostly related to GI tract (18%), CNS (4%) and skin (2%). After 12 months of treatment, the maintenance rate was 71.6%. No relationship was evidenced between side-effect incidence and age or cumulative dose, even for severe GI side-effects. 13.3% patients withdrew from the study for side-effects, nearly always related to GI tract (11.2%), 60% of which occurred during the first month. Skin side-effects were always benign. In conclusion, ketoprofen, a short half-life NSAID, administered on a long-term basis in elderly patients has a favorable safety profile and displays no increase in toxicity with age.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Rheumatology, Hospital de Base, Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arone
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D007660:Ketoprofen / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000188:drug therapy; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D007660:Ketoprofen