Abstract

Since we discussed drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in 1975¹ still more preparations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents have been introduced. Any new preparation has to be compared with established ones, and so far none of the newer anti-inflammatory preparations has proved clearly superior, in either efficacy or freedom from side effects, to aspirin or indomethacin. But as many patients do not tolerate these two standard drugs, alternatives are often needed. This article discusses the choice between the alternative anti-inflammatory drugs listed in Table I.