A comparative study of fenbufen and indomethacin in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

A short-term, double-blind crossover study was completed in 29 patients with definite rheumatoid arthritis to compare the antirheumatic activity of indomethacin (100 mg/day) with that of fenbufen (800 mg/day). The patients were randomly allocated to two groups and treated for a period of 6 weeks with each of the drugs. Subjective and objective assessment of rheumatic activity showed that indomethacin produced significant improvement only in morning stiffness and walking time; however, following fenbufen a significant improvement in walking time, grip strength and joint swelling resulted. Both the observed and the patients assessed the fenbufen period as significantly better than the baseline and that following indomethacin.