A comparison of tolmetin with aspirin in the treatment of osteo-arthritis of the knee.

A randomized, double-blind crossover study conducted on 55 patients showed tolmetin (Tolectin; Ethnor) (900 mg daily) to be as effective as aspirin (4 500 mg daily) in relieving the symptoms and signs of osteo-arthritis of the knee. Overall, aspirin produced significantly more side-effects, but the incidence of gastro-intestinal side-effects did not differ significantly. In almost every comparison tolmetin had the better score, but differences were not statistically significant; the only exception was the evaluation of the patients' well-being at mid-therapy, which significanlty favoured tolmetin.