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  • Title: A cross-sectional retrospective assessment of anti-arthritic drugs in patients with arthritis in Korea.
    Author: Lee MC, Lee S, Suh DC, Kim J, Kong SX, Korea Arthritis Study Group.
    Journal: Curr Med Res Opin; 2003; 19(7):597-602. PubMed ID: 14606981.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors were recently introduced for the treatment of arthritis because of their lower rates of gastrointestinal adverse events compared with traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). OBJECTIVE: To examine the medication usage patterns for both osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Korea. METHODS: The medical charts of a convenience sample of 402 patients with OA or RA were reviewed by the Arthritis Study Group in 14 hospitals and ten clinics in Korea. RESULTS: Traditional oral NSAIDs were the most commonly prescribed drugs for OA (68.3%) and RA (65.1%) patients. Two-thirds (66.7%) of the RA patients taking COX-2 inhibitors were prescribed other arthritis medications concurrently and 85.1% of RA patients taking NSAIDs were prescribed other arthritis medications concurrently. Patients on NSAIDs were almost twice as likely to have a gastroprotective agent (GPA) concurrently compared to COX-2 inhibitor users (OA patients 38.1% vs 21.2%; RA patients 57.9% vs 30.6%). Overall, patients taking COX-2 inhibitors were less likely to take GPAs concurrently compared to patients not taking COX-2 inhibitors (unadjusted OR 0.36; adjusted OR 0.39). CONCLUSIONS: Traditional oral NSAIDs were commonly prescribed to arthritis patients in Korea. In this study, patients taking COX-2 inhibitors were prescribed less adjunctive arthritis treatments and less gastroprotective agents than traditional oral NSAID users.
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