Naproxen: antirheumatic efficacy and safety in patients with pre-existing gastrointestinal disease

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) effectively reduce pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To further refine the appropriate uses of NSAID therapy, NSAIDs have been evaluated for possible gastrotoxicity, particularly in patients who have pre-existing gastrointestinal (GI) disease. In the present study, 58 such RA patients (36 women, 22 men) treated long-term with naproxen were monitored for periods up to 2.5 years to determine if any gastrotoxicity were induced by naproxen. We found an extremely low incidence of fecal occult blood, patient complaints of GI discomfort, complications documented by GI studies, and patient discontinuance of naproxen therapy because of complaints. Studies reported in the medical literature support our observations that naproxen can be well tolerated and is effective as long-term RA treatment when patients who have clinically significant pre-existing GI disease are managed with conventional treatments and appropriate monitoring.