Use of piroxicam in the treatment of acute gout

The authors carried out an open noncomparative study to evaluate the anti-inflammatory therapeutic activity of piroxicam in 40 adult patients suffering from acute gout. The patients ranged in age from 28 to 68 years (the average age was 51.6 years) overall, 21 men and 19 women participated in the trial. All of the patients had their disease for more than one year and they were receiving treatment with Benziodarone, 100 mg per day when the drug was discontinued from clinical use in Brazil. All of these patients subsequently experienced aggravation of their disease and had an acute attack of gout. Each patient was given piroxicam, 40 mg, in a single dose on the first day and two divided doses of 20 mg for the following five days. The affected joints were: elbow, knee, ankle and hallux. Severity of pain at rest, severity of pain on movement, tenderness, swelling, redness, heat and restriction of movement were evaluated. By the sixth day of the trial, good or total remission was observed in all patients. Overall evaluation of efficacy showed excellent and good results in 81.6% of the patients. Tolerability was excellent and good in 92.5%. All adverse reactions that occurred during the use of piroxicam therapy were noted. Five patients showed mild side effects, such as pyrosis, nausea and headache, and two patients had severe side effects (skin rash, gastric disturbance) that necessitated withdrawal from therapy. Finally, statistical analysis demonstrates that piroxicam is highly efficacious in the treatment of acute gout.