Are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs always necessary? A general practice survey.

The number of patients receiving long-term 'repeat prescriptions' for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was examined in a General Practice; a group of them with osteoarthritis or musculoskeletal pain attempted to withdraw their NSAID treatment and substitute alternative analgesics. Thirty-eight randomly selected patients, with conditions other than rheumatoid arthritis, were interviewed and alternative analgesics prescribed to replace their NSAID therapy. After one month, 22 had very satisfactory pain relief without their NSAID but 16 had resumed therapy, with four of them on a reduced dosage; three others wished to try an alternative analgesic again. Five initially with gastro-intestinal symptoms were asymptomatic within a month of discontinuing their NSAID. After four months, 24 of the 38 had discontinued NSAIDs, including one who had an upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage during the study; two others were taking a reduced dosage.