Ibuprofen tops acetaminophen for arthritis - study

	Tweet

Ibuprofen provides better relief of osteoarthritis pain than does acetaminophen, according to results of a head-to-head comparison study.

Ibuprofen (the ingredient in Advil, Motrin and many other painkillers) and acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol, and the ingredient in Tylenol and numerous other brands) are both better than placebo for treating various types of pain, researchers note in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 

However, very few studies have directly compared the two drugs for treating pain due to osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear form of joint degeneration.

Dr. Francois Boureau from Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France and colleagues compared the pain-relieving effectiveness of single and multiple doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen in 222 patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis.

Pain relief the first 6 hours after a single dose of ibuprofen (400 milligrams) was significantly greater than after a single dose of acetaminophen (1000 mg), the authors report.

After two weeks of thrice-daily treatment, participants taking ibuprofen had significantly less pain and significantly more improvement in stiffness and physical function than did the group given acetaminophen.

Sleep quality improved in both groups, the report indicates, with no meaningful difference between the treatments.

There were no significant differences in the number or severity of adverse events reported by the two groups.

SOURCE: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, September 2004.

RELATED STORIES:
Mental distress common in adults with arthritis   Magnets seen helpful for osteoarthritis   Image-Guided Therapy Effective Treatment for Juvenile Arthritis   Wrist splints helpful for inflammatory arthritis   Roche’s Actemra helps rheumatoid arthritis   New Research Registry to Examine Rheumatoid Arthritis in African Americans   Scientists ‘switch off’ arthritis   Most People With Arthritis Don’t Get Enough Exercise   Beer may raise gout risk, wine may not   Leflunomide effective as co-therapy in RA   Is carpal tunnel syndrome cultural?   Vitamin D insufficiency prevalent among psoriatic arthritis suffers

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]