[Azapropazone versus indomethacin in a double blind test with patients with ankylosing spondylitis].

In a double lind test 60 patients with ankylosing spondylitis received either Azapropazone (30 patients) or Indomethacin (30 patients) during a period of three weeks. In the two well comparable groups the therapeutic effect was equally good. As the results show the Azapropazone group came out a little better concerning the finger-ground distance and the difference in circumference of thorax, and the Azapropazone group was favoured slightly by the general judgement of the patients. However, these differences are not relevant. The influence on the spontaneous pain in the daytime and during the night and the shifting of dorsal and lumbar vertebral column was equally good in both groups. The compatibility was good in 59 out of 60 patients. One patient had to stop the Azapropazone medication because of gastric trouble in the second week of treatment. This result shows that in most patients an adequate medication with Azapropazone or with Indomethacin leads to a distinct reduction of pain and even painlessness already after a 3 weeks' treatment. This is particularly important regarding kinesiatrics. Indomethacin and Phenylbutazone are generally regarded as approved preparations in treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. If Azapropazone which, according to all previous reports has no hematotoxic effect like Phenylbutazone, had the same good effect in a double blind test as Indomethacin, this must be regarded as a very positive result. Concerning the good compatibility of Azapropazone, a change of drug is possible without a reduction of the effect.