DOUBLE-BLIND PARALLEL-GROUP EVALUATION OF THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF ETODOLAC CAPSULES COMPARED WITH PIROXICAM CAPSULES IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

This 12-week, double-blind, multicenter, parallel-group evaluation was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of etodolac (200 mg twice daily) and piroxicam (20 mg once daily) in 40 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. In the etodolac-treated patients, significant (p < 0.05) mean changes from baseline, indicative of improvement, were seen at almost every evaluation in number of tender joints, number of swollen joints, pain intensity, duration of morning stiffness, time to walk 50 feet, patient's global evaluation, and physician's global evaluation. In the piroxicam group, statistically significant mean changes indicating improvement occurred consistently in number of swollen joints, morning stiffness, pain intensity, and global evaluations. There were few statistically significant differences between the treatment groups. However, mean walking time and number of tender joints showed greater improvement in the etodolac group than in the piroxicam group. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in either the incidence of any patient complaint or the frequency of premature withdrawal from the study for any reason. The results indicate that etodolac is as safe as and at least as effective as piroxicam for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis.