Cj. Hawkey et al., Ibuprofen versus other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: use in general practice and patient perception, ALIM PHARM, 14(2), 2000, pp. 187-191
Objective: To investigate whether ibuprofen was as well-regarded by patient
s as other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Design: Questionnaire sent to 1137 consecutive recipients of an NSAID presc
ription from 21 doctors in six general practices with computerized records.
Patient responses were subsequently linked to data held on the practice re
cords.
Setting: General practices in and around Nottingham, selected to reflect lo
cal variations in number of partners, list size, geographical location, dep
rivation, prescribing burden and prescribing rate.
Subjects: Unselected patients receiving NSAIDs prescribed for all indicatio
ns for use.
Main outcome measures: Effectiveness of ibuprofen and other NSAIDs, possibl
e drug related adverse events, patients' overall satisfaction with ibuprofe
n and other NSAIDs, factors associated with choice of ibuprofen, drug costs
of ibuprofen and other NSAIDs.
Results: The main NSAIDs used were ibuprofen, diclofenac and naproxen. Ibup
rofen use ranged from 1.0% of prescriptions in one practice to 69.1% in ano
ther. Although ibuprofen was generally prescribed in low doses, it was perc
eived by patients as being as effective as the other NSAIDs used, even afte
r allowing for severity of the pre-treatment condition. Overall, 50.5% of p
atients rated their NSAID the best treatment they had received for their co
ndition with no differences between individual drugs.
Conclusions: Ibuprofen is as highly regarded as other NSAIDs when used in s
imilar circumstances. Switching patients to ibuprofen may be a realistic wa
y of reducing financial and medical costs associated with NSAIDs.