Prolonged treatment with tolfenamic acid in inflammatory rheumatic diseases

The aim of this study was in the first place to elucidate the tolerance of rheumatic patients to prolonged treatment with tolfenamic acid. 91 patients took part in the trial, most of them suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The daily dose of tolfenamic acid was 600 mg and the trial lasted 6 months. The side-effects were usually slight: diarrhea occurred in 8, other gastrointestinal disturbances in 11, dysuria in 8 and other side-effects in 3 cases. Six patients broke off their treatment because of side-effects ascribed to tolfenamic acid. However, laboratory tests failed to show any significant changes caused by this drug. One case of reversible thrombopenia was seen in a patient who had also received gold treatment. On the whole, the clinical effect was found to be good, and tolfenamic acid appeared to be well suited for long-term symptomatic treatment of rheumatics.