Response of osteoarthritis to ibuprofen or flurbiprofen

Flurbiprofen and ibuprofen, two propionic acid derivatives with anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity, were compared in a double-blind multiclinic study in 195 patients with osteoarthritis of the peripheral joints. The patients were given 80 mg/day flurbiprofen or 1600 mg/day ibuprofen for six weeks. Pain, subjective evaluation and functional tests improved significantly in both groups. There were no statistically significant differences between the two treatments in any of the responses. Gastro-intestinal side-effects, generally mild, developed in 5-6% of the patients.