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Pirprofen and aspirin in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
Author(s) -
Davis John D.,
Struth Alan G.,
Turner Robert A.,
Pisko Edward J.,
Ruchte Inez R.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt1979255part1618
Subject(s) - medicine , aspirin , rheumatoid arthritis , erythrocyte sedimentation rate , discontinuation , placebo , arthritis , grip strength , juvenile rheumatoid arthritis , surgery , analgesic , anesthesia , pathology , alternative medicine
Pirprofen (800 mg/day) or aspirin (3,600 mg/day) was administered in double‐blind fashion for up to one yr to 40 adult outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis, after a short, single‐blind placebo period. There were no statistically significant differences in efficacy between pirprofen and aspirin, as evidenced by patient opinion, observer opinion, grip strength, walking time, number of tender joints, number of swollen joints, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Clinically significant pain of gastrointestinal origin occurred in an equal number of patients from each group. Audiologic evaluation revealed 3 pirprofen‐treated patients and 5 aspirin‐treated patients in whom a sensorineural hearing loss progressed during therapy and required either discontinuation or reduction of drug dosage. Ophthalmologic evaluation disclosed a high prevalence of lesions, the most common being decreased visual acuity and cataracts not explained by previous antiarthritic therapy. The high prevalence of audiologic and ophthalmologic pathology reported in the literature in patients with rheumatoid arthritis makes it difficult to establish in our study whether pirprofen or aspirin affected these organ systems.