Ketoprofen ('Orudis') in the treatment of inflammatory arthritic conditions: a multicentre study in general practice

An open multi-centre study was carried out in general practice to assess the effectiveness and tolerance of ketoprofen in the treatment of 1997 patients with inflammatory arthritic conditions. Patients were treated with 100 mg ketoprofen twice daily for 4 weeks and subjective assessments were made before and after treatment of the clinical symptoms of pain and/or stiffness. The results showed that ketoprofen produced a statistically significant relief of symptoms in painful joints, regardless of whether these were thought to be affected primarily by rheumatoid or osteoarthritic processes. Joint stiffness also improved in the majority of cases. The side-effects reported related mainly to gastro-intestinal symptoms: there were no cases of overt haemorrhage and no serious adverse reactions.