2022 Volume 16 Issue 5 Pages 217-224
The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapies for chronic pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) between a group with duloxetine (DLX) and S-flurbiprofen plaster (SFPP) (the SFPP group) and a group with DLX and conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (the control group). The subjects were 49 patients (17 men and 32 women). The evaluation of factors associated with treatment termination due to symptoms improvement showed that significantly more women terminated treatment than did men, and significantly more members of the SFPP group terminated treatment than did members of the control group. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score in the SFPP group was significantly improved from 6.6 ± 1.7 before treatment to 3.6 ± 2.1 one month later and showed significant difference until nine months later. The VAS score in the control group was significantly improved from 6.7 ± 1.9 to 4.1 ± 2.8 one month later. The VAS score improvement rate was significantly higher in the SFPP group than in the control group, suggesting that the DLX-SFPP combination had higher efficacy than the DLX-conventional NSAIDs combination. The incidence of adverse drug reactions was 55% in the SFPP group, which is not significantly different from 50% incidence in the control group. The treatment discontinuation rate due to adverse drug reactions, however, was 60% in the control group and 19% in the SFPP group. It was suggested that the efficacy and safety of the DLX-SFPP combination for chronic pain due to OA are equal to or higher than that of the DLX-conventional NSAIDs combination.