Nabumetone therapy of osteoarthritis. A six-week, placebo-controlled study.

Following a washout period, one hundred six patients with osteoarthritis were randomly assigned single daily doses of either 1,000 mg of nabumetone or placebo given at bedtime as part of a six-week, controlled, double-blind study. Forty-seven patients received nabumetone, whereas 48 patients were given placebo. Treatment groups were comparable for demographic characteristics, baseline efficacy assessments, and diagnostic criteria for osteoarthritis. Nabumetone-treated patients had absolute improvement, as well as relative improvement in comparison with placebo, both clinically and statistically. There were no clinical or statistical differences in safety variables between the two groups. When given once daily at bedtime, nabumetone was effective and had a good safety profile in patients with osteoarthritis.