title: Use of ibuprofen sustained release for treating osteoarthritic pain: findings from 15 general medical practices in Egypt.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ibuprofen sustained release (SR) has been shown to provide effective symptomatic pain relief in chronic arthritic conditions such as osteoarthritis in European and US patient populations. Few studies have been conducted in other patient populations. A 4-week prospective multicenter open-label observational study was designed to explore and describe the combined effect of ibuprofen SR and standard medical care in patients suffering from osteoarthritis in 15 general medical practices in Egypt.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 519 patients were prescribed ibuprofen SR 2 ×800 mg once daily for 4 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ibuprofen SR combined with standard medical care significantly improved day and night pain, with 99.4% of the patients reporting improvement. The treatment reduced the symptom severity of joint tenderness/stiffness and the duration of morning stiffness, and allowed more patients to carry out normal activities. Overall compliance with the prescribed ibuprofen SR regimen was 98.6%. Ibuprofen SR was generally well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported during the study. There was no increase in blood pressure or heart rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combined treatment provided effective relief of pain in patients with osteoarthritis in a large real-life general medical practice setting in Egypt. Owing to its convenient once-daily dosing regimen, ibuprofen SR may enhance patient compliance.
authors: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Nabil
authors: N
authors: Khalifa
authors: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Timour
authors: T
authors: El-Husseini
authors: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Ahmed
authors: A
authors: Morrah
authors: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
authors: Elshenawy
authors: E
authors: Mostafa
authors: Department of Rheumatology, Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Hesham
authors: H
authors: Hamoud
keywords: chronic arthritis; compliance; pain score; real-life