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Should we use non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs?
Author(s) -
HASLOCK I.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2036.1988.tb00760.x
Subject(s) - medicine , intensive care medicine , population , alternative medicine , risk analysis (engineering) , environmental health , pathology
SUMMARY Both the relative efficacy and inefficacy of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) contribute to their use in chronic rheumatic diseases. There are also sociological trends in patients, and in the population as a whole, increasing demand for treatment. In view of the risks of such treatment, the most rational approach to prescribing would be the use of a scientific risk‐benefit analysis. Unfortunately, the data, especially those related to symptom relief, are inadequate for such an analysis. Until more meaningful figures are produced, good clinical practise concentrates on the responsibilities of physicians who both start and stop drugs, and makes it essential that strategies to minimize risk are produced.