Efficacy of Arthrotec in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

In a double-blind study, 346 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to receive Arthrotec, a combination of 50 mg of diclofenac and 200 *g of misoprostol, or 50 mg of diclofenac; the drugs were given two or three times daily for 12 weeks. At weeks 4, 8, and 12 of treatment, no clinically significant differences between the two treatment groups were noted on measures of joint tenderness, pain, and swelling or on physicians' and patients' assessments of disease severity.

[Hepatitis secondary to current non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents]. / Les hépatites secondaires aux anti-inflammatoires non stéroïdiens récents.

The authors report 83 cases of acute hepatitis secondary to non steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), published in the literature. The NSAID in question are: niflumic acid, tolfenamic acid, diclofenac, fenoprofen, ibuprofen, indomethacin, naproxen, piroxicam, pirprofen and sulindac. Six deaths are directly ascribed to NSAID: although rare, these forms of hepatitis deserve therefore to be reported. They are usually mixed immuno-allergic forms of hepatitis (cytolytic as well as cholestatic). They often affect elderly women taking multiple medications. Monitoring of the liver function tests is necessary, during prolonged treatment with NSAID, especially during the first six months.