Science / Medicine : Pain Reliever Found Effective

An over-the-counter dosage of pain reliever worked as well as a prescription-strength anti-inflammation drug for pain from knee osteoarthritis, according to a study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study challenges the practice of routinely prescribing anti-inflammation drugs that risk side effects.

Patients got a similar amount of pain relief from acetaminophen as they did from low or high doses of ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

NSAIDs relieve pain and fight inflammation. Ibuprofen is in such products as Advil, Medipren, Motrin and Nuprin. Acetaminophen is simply a pain reliever, contained in products such as Anacin-3, Excedrin and Tylenol.

“It is not always necessary to use an anti-inflammatory agent to relieve the pain in patients with osteoarthritis,” said study co-author Dr. Kenneth Brandt, director of Indiana University’s Specialized Center of Research in Osteoarthritis in Indianapolis.

Surveys suggest that doctors frequently begin treating osteoarthritis with a NSAID, often at a high dosage, Brandt said. At low or high doses, those drugs carry risks of such side effects as ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding and reduced kidney function, he said.

Despite his study finding, Brandt said NSAIDs work better than other pain relievers for some osteoarthritis patients, such as those with marked inflammation.