Indoprofen in knee joint osteoarthritis: a double-blind, crossover clinical trial

A double-blind, crossover clinical trial has been carried out in subjects with knee joint osteoarthritis to assess the activity of two nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Eighteen outpatients with a severe systemic form were given orally indoprofen (800 mg/day), indomethacin (80 mg/day), and placebo for one week without interval between treatment periods. Significant improvement was seen in subjective and objective signs and symptoms after both drugs, which gave similar results. No significant differences between drugs were noted as to patients' opinions and preferences, which were in agreement with clinical indexes. No improvement in most cases and deterioration in a few subjects followed placebo administration, probably because the majority of the sample was made up of placebo non-reactors. Consequently, the activity data of the trial might be interpreted as expression of the pure pharmacologic activity of the tested drugs. Safety was very satisfactory: patients complained only rarely of trivial and clinically unimportant side effects; no variations in laboratory tests were noted.