Symptomatic osteoarthritis in the elderly: a comparative study of sulindac and ibuprofen

Thirty-two elderly patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis, mainly of the hip and/or knee joints, were treated at random with either 400 mg sulindac or 1200 mg ibuprofen per day for 12 weeks. Clinical assessments were made before, during and after treatment of disease activity, weight-bearing pain, night pain, and pain on active and passive movement. Objective measurements were also made of duration of inactivity stiffness, knee flexion and hip abduction. The results showed that after treatment there was significant symptomatic improvement in the patients in both groups. Apart from night pain, the differences between the groups in the subjective parameters at Week 12 were significant in favour of sulindac. Overall assessment of response to treatment also showed a significant preference for sulindac by patients and physician. Both drugs were well-tolerated although 1 patient on sulindac had to be withdrawn because of a skin rash.