Nimesulide in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Double-blind studies in comparison with piroxicam, ketoprofen and placebo

Abstract

The efficacy and tolerability profiles of nimesulide (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) were assessed in 3 comparative double-blind clinical trials that each recruited 60 patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. The duration of each investigation varied with the comparator agent chosen: 2 weeks for placebo; 3 weeks for piroxicam; 2 months for ketoprofen. Nimesulide and ketoprofen were each administered orally as a 100mg dose twice daily, while piroxicam was administered orally as a single daily 20mg dose. In each study the principal efficacy parameters were the improvement in spontaneous pain, assessed using a visual analogue scale, and the degree of functional impairment evaluated using the severity index of Lequesne; the final judgement of efficacy was made by the physician. In all studies, nimesulide improved these and other efficacy parameters with an activity significantly superior to that of placebo and comparable with that of reference drugs.