[Comparison of the effects of niflumic acid and aloxiprin in patients with progressive chronic rheumatoid arthritis in a double blind trial].

The effects of niflumic acid (trifluoro-methyl-3-phenylamino-2-nicotinic acid) and of aloxiprin (aluminium acetyl-salicylate) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis were compared in a double-blind cross-over trial. Check-up examinations prior to the institution and after the termination of the therapy, as well as after individual treatment periods of two weeks with alternating sequential administration of the two drugs, were carried out with a standardized method. The assessment included subjective (pain intensity) and objective criteria (Lansbury's index), as well as laboratory results (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, uricaemia). With the exception of the articular index disclosing a superior effect of niflumic acid, the other criteria showed no statistically significant differences between the effects of the two drugs.