International experience with etodolac therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: an interim report of comparative efficacy.

Etodolac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of the pyranocarboxylic acid family, has been tested in international clinical trials as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Preliminary results of 8- to 12-week double-blind trials indicate that etodolac therapy (200 mg twice a day) compared favorably with piroxicam therapy (20 mg once a day) and diclofenac therapy (50 mg three times a day) as measured by improvement in scores of five efficacy assessments: number of painful joints, number of swollen joints, physician's global assessment, patient's global assessment, and pain intensity. Etodolac also was as effective as naproxen (500 mg twice a day) as measured by improvement in scores in the five efficacy assessments. The observation that etodolac is as efficacious as three commonly used NSAIDs should interest clinicians who attempt to tailor NSAID therapy to the needs of individual RA patients, since etodolac has previously demonstrated an excellent safety profile. However, these trials must be completed to verify these preliminary results in a greater number of patients.