Objective: To assess the efficacy and tolerability of celecoxib versus naproxen in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.
Methods: This 6-month, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trial was conducted at 47 centres in the USA. Patients with OA of the knee were randomized to receive 200 mg celecoxib orally once daily or 500 mg naproxen orally twice daily. The primary endpoint was defined as a 20% improvement from baseline to 6 months in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) OA total score.
Results: A total of 586 out of 589 randomized patients received at least one dose of celecoxib (n=294) or naproxen (n=292). The primary endpoint (6-month response rate) was achieved by 52.7% and 49.7% of patients in the celecoxib and naproxen treatment groups, respectively. Significantly fewer discontinuations due to gastrointestinal adverse events occurred in patients receiving celecoxib than in those receiving naproxen (4.1% versus 15.1%, respectively).
Conclusions: Over the 6month study period, celecoxib provided similar improvements in OA symptoms to naproxen. In addition, celecoxib provided better upper gastrointestinal tolerability than naproxen.