Review of the experience with nabumetone in clinical trials outside of the United States.

Nabumetone, a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent, has undergone extensive clinical evaluation in a number of countries. There have been over 4,000 patients treated, including nearly 1,000 elderly patients and over 1,100 patients who have received nabumetone for more than one year. A total of 2,400 of these patients with a variety of rheumatic disorders have been investigated in studies outside of the United States. Studies in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis have demonstrated that nabumetone is effective in the treatment of these conditions and that this effectiveness is maintained in many patients in the long term. Nabumetone appears to be well tolerated and there is no evidence from patients receiving treatment for 12 months or more of any clinically significant adverse effects on hematologic or biochemical parameters. Thus, these studies support the use of nabumetone in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.