The simultaneous assessment of four nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in rheumatoid arthritis using a simple and rapid trial design. Australasia Multicentre Trial Group.

We compared naproxen and sulindac with salicylates, ibuprofen and placebo in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The active medications were significantly more effective than placebo but not different from one another. Both naproxen and sulindac appeared to be more effective in the higher doses studied but a considerable variation in response emphasizes the need to individualize the dose requirements. A single-blind, non cross-over trial technique utilizing entirely subjective measurements in the form of self-assessment charts is presented. The method is simple and rapid and can be used for the simultaneous comparison of a number of antirheumatic drugs.