COMPARATIVE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF THE NONSTEROIDAL ANTIINFLAMMATORY DRUGS NIMESULIDE AND DICLOFENAC IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE SUBDELTOID BURSITIS AND BICIPITAL TENDINITIS

The efficacy and tolerability of nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-infl ammatory drug (NSAID) 100 mg twice daily were compared with diclofenac 75 mg b.i.d. in short term treatment of acute shoulder (acute subdelt oid bursitis and bicipital tendinitis) in adult patients. In this doub le-blind (double-dummy), randomised, parallel group study over two wee ks, 122 patients were included. The Mann-Whitney statistics revealed t herapeutic equivalence of both treatments with a slight superiority fo r nimesulide. The tolerability of nimesulide, judged by investigators and patients and analysed statistically, was superior to that of diclo fenac. Thus, the benefit-risk relationship was better for the test dru g than for the reference drug.