CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WITH IBUPROFEN IN THE TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BY

The search continues for a compound with the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of aspirin, but without its occasionally troublesome side-effects. Ibuprofen (2-4'-isobutylphenylpropi-onic acid) is the latest member of a series of phenyl-alkanoic acids to be submitted for clinical trial. Boardman, Nuki, and Dudley Hart (1967) con-cluded that in twenty patients with rheumatoid arthritis Ibuprofen, when given in a daily dosage of 0-9 g., did not exhibit a significant therapeutic effect when compared with placebo. Similarly, in nine-teen patients with osteoarthritis, these authors found that clinically significant improvement was not obtained when Ibuprofen was given in a daily dosage of 0 6 g. daily for 14 days. Thompson, Fox, and Newell (1967), however, reported that Ibuprofen, in daily dosages of up to 0-6 g., was effective in relieving pain and morning stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and useful for patients unable to take aspirin because of dyspepsia. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of the initial pilot trials of Ibuprofen in the treat-ment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, together with a review of the effects of long-term administra-tion of the drug. Methods Ibuprofen was given to six in-patients in each of two short clinical trials, and subsequently substituted for aspirin for maintenance therapy in a group of 27 out-patients. (1) In-Patient Trial Six patients, each with classical or definite rheumatoid arthritis as defined by the diagnostic criteria of th