Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions

Diclofenac in Knee Osteoarthritis

Is it safe and effective?

Publish date:: November 2, 2015

Administration of diclofenac sodium 2% topical solution BID resulted in significantly greater improvement in pain reduction versus vehicle control and was generally well tolerated, according to a study of 259 patients aged 40 to 85 years with radiographically confirmed osteoarthritis of the knee. Researchers found:

• Significantly reduced WOMAC pain scores were seen in diclofenac-treated patients vs vehicle-treated patients at the final study visit.

• Most commonly reported treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were administration site conditions.

• The vehicle-treated group experienced slightly more TEAEs (38.8%) than the active treatment group (31.5%).

• No serious AEs were reported.

Citation: Wadsworth LT, Kent JD, Holt RJ. Efficacy and safety of diclofenac sodium 2% topical solution for osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, 4 week study. [Published online ahead of print October 27, 2015]. Curr Med Res Opin. doi: 10.1185/03007995.2015.1113400.

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