Indomethacin treatment in osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Does the treatment interfere with the natural course of the disease?

The course of osteoarthritis in 294 hips of 186 patients was evaluated by examining their radiographs. The development of the disease in patients treated with indomethacin was compared with that in a control material. In the indomethacin group the disease progressed more frequently and in one parameter the progress was more severe. The results support previous reports indicating that indomethacin might have a deleterious effect on osteoarthritic hip joints. Some possible explanations for this adverse effect of indomethacin treatment are discussed.