Effects of antiinflammatory drugs on the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee. LINK Study Group. Longitudinal Investigation of Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs in Knee Osteoarthritis

Huskisson EC, Berry H, Gishen P, Jubb RW, Whitehead J · Journal of Rheumatology

More than twice as many patients showed radiographic deterioration on indomethacin as on placebo (40/85 vs 19/85 among completers, p=0.009); tiaprofenic acid did not differ from placebo.

Population

Patients with knee osteoarthritis (812 randomized; 376 completed at least 1 year)

Intervention

Indomethacin 25 mg three times daily, or tiaprofenic acid 300 mg twice daily

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

High dropout (fewer than half completed 1 year); completer analysis vulnerable to attrition bias; radiographic joint-space narrowing is an indirect cartilage measure.