Benoxaprofen in the treatment of osteoarthritis--a comparison with ibuprofen

A double-blind within-patient crossover trial compared the new nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent benoxaprofen with ibuprofen in the treatment of osteoarthritis in 31 patients. Both benoxaprofen (600 mg once daily) and ibuprofen (400 mg qid) improved measurements of pain, stiffness, range of movement, mobility, patient preference, and overall assessment. However, the improvement was statistically significant only for pain at rest and range of knee movement for both drugs and for range of hip movement (N = 8) for ibuprofen. There was no statistically significant difference between treatments with the 2 drugs. Six patients taking benoxaprofen reported skin irritation on exposure to sunlight.