A steroid may be an effective treatment for gout, says study
A new study has found that a steroid pill may be as good as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in the treatment of gout.
For the study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers compared the steroid prednisolone with the arthritis medication indomethacin and found that both drugs offered a similar degree of pain reduction. And while indomethacin (Indocin) appeared to cause more minor side effects, neither treatment prompted serious complications, the researchers found.
However, the researchers say the study excluded patients with a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and noted earlier research had linked indomethacin to a higher risk for major complications, including gastrointestinal discomfort. They also said the findings concerning indomethacin may not apply to other NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin.
Rainer stresses that “each individual patient needs to learn about their own body” with respect to various medications.
“Not everyone reacts to the same drug in the same way,” he says. “If one has previous experience of a poor reaction to steroids or NSAIDs, then [that drug] might not be best for that person.”
Lead study author, Dr Timothy Rainer, Prof of Emergency Medicine at Cardiff University, Wales, says that while smaller investigations have pointed in the same direction, these new findings are the product of a “larger and better-designed” effort, which means that steroid pills may gain standing amount gout experts who usually use NSAIDs as their first line of treatment.
For this study, more than 400 mostly male gout patients in Hong Kong, with an average age of 65, were randomly assigned to receive either prednisolone or indomethacin. Neither in a new medication so they are relatively inexpensive.
Those given indomethacin took 150 milligrams (mg) a day for two days, followed by 75 mg a day for three days. Those given prednisolone took 30 mg a day for five days.
Both treatments were found to provide roughly comparable levels of pain relief, with relief kicking in at a similar pace, whether patients were at rest or active.
Minor adverse side effects, such as abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness and lethargy, were “significantly” more common among the NSAID group, the researchers say, but neither drug caused any serious problems.
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