Determinants of NSAID choice in rheumatoid arthritis--a drug utilization study.

Long term nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) medication is associated with gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events. This paper aimed to depict main determinants of NSAID drug choice (GI safe/traditional NSAIDs) in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient sample (n=143). According to our logistic regression model, current/prior GI adverse events in the anamnesis was the only significant determinant of GI safer NSAID use (OR 3.1, p = 0.01). There was significant difference regarding most NSAIDs between the RA study sample and the total Hungarian population, suggesting that chronic administration could also influence the NSAID choice. GI safe NSAIDs were much preferred in the RA study sample than in the total population. In conclusion, the NSAID medication of the observed 143 patients was considered to be reasonable regarding both cardiovascular and GI safety.