ORIGINAL PAPER DOUBLE-BLIND CROSS-OVER STUDY OF ORUDIS AND PLACEBO IN FIFTY PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

In a double-blind cross-over study of Orudis and placebo in 50 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis, symptomatic relief produced by Orudis was found to be significantly greater (p <0-01) than by placebo. Toxic effects were few and trivial. THE analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs available at present for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are often unsatisfactory. Those commonly prescribed, such as aspirin, indomethacin, phenylbutazone, and ibuprofen, may be poorly tolerated because of toxic effects, and therefore insufficiently effective in suppressing manifestations of the disease. Orudis [2(3-phenylbenzoyl) propionic acid], a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, has been shown in laboratory studies to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity comparable with or greater than that produced by indomethacin or phenyl-butazone (Julou et ah, 1971). In open pilot studies lasting for one month in 52 patients with miscellaneous rheumatic diseases, Orudis was found to be readily tolerated and unassociated with serious toxic effects or with significant deterioration in standard laboratory tests performed at weekly intervals (Mason and Darracott, 1971; Gomez