Zidometacin

Twenty patients were treated with zidometacin by either the oral or the rectal route in a double-blind, short-term, balanced cross-over study, using the techniques of the double dummy. They suffered from osteoarthritis of the hip or knee or both. Zidometacin was administered at the daily doses of 400 mg p.o., and 600 mg by rectal route. The duration of each treatment was ten days. Zidometacin either as capsules or as suppositories showed a statistically significant influence on pain and functional indices even in this short-term evaluation. The side-effects reported by patients were three cases of dizziness and one case of nausea with capsules and one case of anal burning with suppositories, none of them requiring the interruption of the treatment.