Guidance matches osteoarthritis patients to NSAIDs according to risk of side effects

A multidisciplinary group of clinicians has advised which non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are appropriate for patients with osteoarthritis, in line with the drugs’ risk of upper and lower gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side effects.

Despite the many guidelines on the use of NSAIDs none has looked specifically at the risks of these adverse effects, the authors wrote in BioMed Central Medicine.1 As nearly half of patients with osteoarthritis (44%) have …