Diflunisal in the treatment of the pain of osteoarthritis. Summary of clinical studies.

In comprehensive clinical studies, diflunisal--a new nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug with a long duration of action--was shown to be highly effective and generally well tolerated in the short- and long-term treatment of the pain of osteoarthritis. In double-blind comparison studies, diflunisal was comparable in efficacy to aspirin and better tolerated. In a separate study with ibuprofen, 800 to 1,200 mg daily (manufacturer's present recommended dose, 900 to 2,400 mg daily), diflunisal, 500 to 750 mg daily, was more effective and comparable in tolerability. Diflunisal had a longer duration of action, requiring only twice-a-day dosage.

A double-blind randomized placebo controlled gastroscopic study to compare the effects of indomethacin capsules and indomethacin suppositories on the gastric mucosa of human volunteers.

Forty-five normal volunteers were divided into 3 equal groups, each receiving indomethacin or placebo once daily in he evening as a capsule or suppository for 10 days. The dose of indomethacin was 50 mg for the first 5 days and 100 mg for the second 5 days. Endoscopic evaluation of the gastric mucosa was carried out on days 1, 6 and 11. It was found that indomethacin capsules caused significantly more gastric irritation than indomethacin suppositories (p less than .01) or placebo (p less than .0001). No significant difference was found in the incidence of gastric injury observed in the indomethacin suppository and placebo groups.