title: A comparative study of isoxicam and naproxen in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: A 4-week parallel-group, double-blind comparison of isoxicam 200 mg once daily and naproxen 250 mg 3 times daily was carried out on 30 patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis. Fifteen patients were randomly assigned to each treatment group. The articular index, scoring on a pain scale and morning stiffness were significantly reduced after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment with both drugs. Grip strength was significantly increased after 4 weeks of naproxen treatment. The mean increase in grip strength was also comparable in isoxicam-treated patients, but did not reach statistical significance. Joint swelling and walking times showed improvement in both groups. One patient withdrew from isoxicam treatment with a pruritic rash considered to be drug-related and another stopped taking isoxicam because of dizziness, nausea and vomiting--also probably drug-related. Eight other patients, 4 treated with isoxicam and 4 with naproxen, reported adverse reactions associated with the digestive system. In this study isoxicam 200 mg taken once daily was similar in efficacy to and was associated with a similar incidence of adverse reactions as naproxen 250 mg taken 3 times daily. Both drugs were effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and were well tolerated.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009288:Naproxen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010894:Piroxicam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D013843:Thiazines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D013843:Thiazines; D010894:Piroxicam; D009288:Naproxen; C013580:isoxicam