A multicentre study of tenoxicam for the treatment of osteo-arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in general practice.

A study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of 20 mg/day tenoxicam given orally for 12 weeks in a general practice setting in a broad range of patients suffering from osteo-arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. The group of 2963 patients was recruited from 252 general practices. Some patients (60%) continued treatment into the long-term phase of the trial, beyond 12 weeks, whereas other patients (31%) elected to continue treatment beyond 52 weeks. There was a reduction in the number of patients recording pain and stiffness over the course of the study. Adverse events were typical of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug with no unexpected or unusual side-effects. It is concluded that tenoxicam can be recommended for use in osteo-arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.