EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF ETODOLAC IN AGED PATIENTS AFFECTED BY DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE (OSTEOARTHRITIS) IN ITS ACTIVE PHASE

Three-hundred-and-fifteen patients, aged 60 or more years, affected by degenerative joint disease (DJD) in the active stage, the majority wi th concomitant pathological conditions of various organs and systems a nd undergoing various combined drug treatments, were treated with 300 mg b.i.d. etodolac in order to assay its efficacy and safety profile i n an aged population more exposed to the occurrence of adverse events. In a subset of these patients, the impact of etodolac treatment on co gnitive function and mood was studied. All clinical assessments reveal ed highly significant improvement after etodolac treatment. Significan t improvement was found also for what concerns mood whereas only the l ess aged patients showed improvement in cognitive abilities after trea tment with etodolac. Only 30 patients (9.5%) showed side-effects, resu lting in suspension of treatment in 10 cases (3.17%). In all cases, ad verse reactions subsided with no consequences. Laboratory tests perfor med at the end of the study yielded mean values comprised within the n ormal range and were not statistically different from the same examina tions performed before starting treatment. Occult blood in stool turne d positive after treatment with etodolac only in six patients (2%). In conclusion, etodolac proved to be effective and well-tolerated in the treatment of risk-aged patients with active DJD.