Etodolac (Lodine) in the treatment of osteoarthritis: recent studies

Etodolac (Lodine) has been marketed in the United States since 1991 for managing pain and for acute and longterm treatment of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA). Etodolac was recently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We review the results of 3 recent 4 week, multicenter, placebo controlled, parallel group studies that compared the efficacy and safety of etodolac with naproxen and nabumetone. Because studies of etodolac in the treatment of OA concentrated on bid doses, the first study compared etodolac 800 mg/day given as 400 mg bid (106 patients) and 200 mg qid (105 patients) with naproxen 1000 mg/day (109 patients) and placebo (104 patients). Etodolac was as effective as naproxen, and the 2 dosage schedules of etodolac were comparable. The 2nd study compared etodolac 400 mg bid (86 patients) with naproxen 500 bid (82 patients) and placebo (86 patients). Etodolac was again found to be as effective as naproxen. The 3rd study compared etodolac 400 mg bid (91 patients) with nabumetone 1500 mg/day (89 patients) and placebo (90 patients). The results indicated that the efficacy of etodolac was comparable to that of nabumetone and resulted in significantly better scores at endpoint on the investigator's overall assessment and patient's global assessment. In all 3 studies there were no significant differences among the groups in the frequency of study events or premature discontinuations as a result of study events. The most common adverse event was digestive system disturbance, which was mild to moderate in severity. The results of these studies confirm the efficacy and safety of etodolac in managing the signs and symptoms of OA.