Clinical interventions in aging
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Long-term tolerability of topical diclofenac sodium 1% gel for osteoarthritis in seniors and patients with comorbidities.
Adverse events associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used to treat knee and hand osteoarthritis may be more frequent in certain patient populations. Topical NSAIDs, such as diclofenac sodium 1% gel (DSG), have equivalent efficacy and fewer adverse events compared with oral NSAIDs. This post hoc analysis assessed the long-term tolerability of DSG in elderly patients and patients with an elevated risk of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal adverse events. ⋯ These results suggest that long-term DSG treatment is safe in patient subpopulations with an elevated risk of NSAID-related adverse events, such as the elderly and those with the comorbidities of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disease.