Arthritis NSAIDs

FIGURE 1-1. Treatment algorithm for acute gouty arthritis. (NSAID, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug.)... 

The toxicity of aminoglycosides in the kidney and other organs is concentration-dependent. Antibiotics such as kanamycin and gentamycin have their half-lives doubled in elderly patients. The elderly commonly suffer from osteoarthritis and (less commonly) rheumatoid arthritis. NSAIDs must be carefully used in geriatric patients, as they cause GI toxicity. For example, aspirin causes GI irritation... 

More recently, it has been discovered that two different cyclooxygenase enzymes, called COX-1 and COX-2, are responsible for prostaglandin synthesis. COX-1 is involved with the usual production of prostaglandins, but COX-2 is responsible for the synthesis of additional prostaglandins in inflammatory diseases like arthritis. NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen inactivate both the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. This activity also results in an increase in gastric secretions, making an individual more susceptible to ulcer formation. 

FIGURE 89-4. Algorithm for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. RA, rheumatoid arthritis NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Rx, therapy DMARD, disease-modifying anti rheumatic drug. 

Aspirin and other NSAIDs function by blocking the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes that carry out the body s synthesis of prostaglandins (Sections 7.11 and 27.4). There are two forms of the enzyme, COX-1, which carries out the normal physiological production of prostaglandins, and COX-2, which mediates the body s response to arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Unfortunately, both COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes are blocked by aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs, thereby shutting down not only tire response to inflammation but also various protective functions, including the control mechanism for production of acid in the stomach. 

Less severe pain states (e.g., arthritis, menstruation, headache, minor surgery) are commonly treated with nonselective NSADDs (e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen, indo-methacin, diclofenac). NSAIDs are mostly used orally. 

NSAIDs are used as the first-line treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosis and other inflammatory diseases, and are thus amongst the most widely used dtugs in the developed world. This widespread use inevitably entailed a considerable associated morbidity, in particular a high incidence of gastric toxicity. In the USA alone, perforations, ulcers and bleeds lead to the hospitalisation of 100,000 patients per year, and about 15% of these die while under intensive care. 

The first two selective COX-2 inhibitors to be marketed and subjected to in depth clinical trials were celecoxib and rofecoxib. Both compounds are as effective as standard NSAIDs in rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and for pain following orthopaedic or dental surgery. Gastrointestinal side effects were far fewer than with comparator diugs and in fact were no... 

In addition, before giving an NSAID to a patient, the nurse assesses the type, onset, and location of the pain. It is important to determine if this problem is different in any way from previous episodes of pain or discomfort. If die patient is receiving an NSAID for arthritis, a musculoskeletal disorder, or soft tissue inflammation, die nurse should examine the joints or areas involved. The appearance of the skin over the joint or affected area or any limitation of motion is documented. The... 

The salicylates and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) are important in the treatment of arthritic conditions. For example, the salicylates and NSAIDs are used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic disease characterized by inflammatory changes within the body s connective tissue) and osteoarthritis (a noninflammatory joint disease resulting in degeneration of the articular cartilage and... 

The miscellaneous drugp are used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Ffenicillamine, methotrexate (MTX), and hydroxychloroquine are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have had an insufficient therapeutic response to or are intolerant of other antirheumatic drugp such as the sailcylates and NSAIDs. The Summary Drug Table Drug s Used to Tream Musculoskeletal Disorders provides additional information about these and other drug s. One compound, hylan G-F 20, listed in the Summary Drug Table is not used for rheumatoid arthritis, but rather, for osteoarthritis knee pain. It is a viscous, elastic... 

Short courses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used to treat CF-related arthritis and hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy.5 The impact on neutrophil recruitment in the lung with long-term NSAID therapy at lower analgesic doses is unknown. 

Two large trials, the Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) study and the Celecoxib Long-term Arthritis Safety Study (CLASS), compared selective COX-2 inhibitors and traditional, non-selective NSAID therapy in terms of their ability to prevent clinical PUD (i.e., symptomatic ulcers and ulcer complications). VIGOR (9-month median follow-up) demonstrated that rofecoxib (50 mg daily) therapy was significantly more efficacious than naproxen.28 The CLASS study (6-month median follow-up) found that high-dose celecoxib (400 mg twice daily) was superior to non-selective NSAID therapy (either ibuprofen 800 mg three times daily or diclofenac 75 mg twice daily).29... 

FIGURE 54-2. Outl ine of the management of rheumatoid arthritis. (From Guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis 2002 update. Arthritis Rheum 2002 46(2) 328-346, with permission.) DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug NSAID, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug ... 

In addition to their beneficial effects, some medications may actually cause cellular injury and disease. An example of this phenomenon involves nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). These drugs include aspirin (a derivative of salicylic acid), ibuprofen (arylpropionic acid, Advil ), and acetaminophen (para-aminophenol derivative, Tylenol ). Because of their beneficial pharmacological effects, consumption of these agents has increased significantly in recent years. NSAIDS have the ability to treat fever, pain, acute inflammation, and chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. They are also used prophylactically to prevent heart disease, stroke, and colon cancer. 

Gold salts have had a long history of use in rheumatoid arthritis.269,270 The development of orally active auranofin (also known as Ridaura (50), Figure 23) was a major improvement over the early injectable gold preparations which were polymeric (e.g., (51)—(53)). However, use has declined with the popularity of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as indo-methacin a recent estimate of the commercial value for auranofin was 6 million. The mechanism... 

The efficacy and safety of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitors (e.g., celecoxib) have not been fully assessed in gouty arthritis, but they are more costly than conventional NSAIDs and are unlikely to result in fewer GI complications because of the short duration of therapy. 

Corticosteroids may be used to treat acute attacks of gouty arthritis, but they are reserved primarily for patients with a contraindication or who are unresponsive to NSAID or colchicine therapy. Patients with multiple-joint involvement may also benefit. 

COX-2 Inhibitor Celecoxib (Celebrex, Pfizer) inhibits the enzyme COX-2, which is involved in pain and inflammation, but it has no effect on the COX-1 enzyme, which helps to maintain stomach lining. It is prescribed for the relief of pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Previously, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were used. NSAIDs inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes and cause stomach bleeding (see Case Study 2). 

Pfizer s tenidap (CP-66,248) (157), another enolic compound, was also more potent (500-fold) toward CO over 5-LO inhibition in human ISN (0.032 /iM and 18 /iM, respectively) [379-381]. Efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials has been reported [380,382] in patients, serum levels of acute phase proteins and synovial fluid levels of IL-1 were reduced by tenidap, in contrast to the lack of this effect with NSAIDs. Besides CO/5-LO inhibition, a variety of in vitro activities have been reported, including a number of effects on monocyte functions and differentiation [379], inhibition of neutrophil degranulation [382], inhibition of the activation of neutrophil collagenase [383], inhibition of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion [384], and inhibition of LTB4-induced neutrophil chemotaxis [385]. Al-... 

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