The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Intrathecal methylprednisolone for intractable postherpetic neuralgia.
There is no effective treatment for intractable postherpetic neuralgia. Because there is evidence that postherpetic neuralgia has an inflammatory component, we assessed treatment with intrathecally administered methylprednisolone to reduce pain in patients with this disorder. ⋯ The results of this trial indicate that the intrathecal administration of methylprednisolone is an effective treatment for postherpetic neuralgia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of upper gastrointestinal toxicity of rofecoxib and naproxen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. VIGOR Study Group.
Each year, clinical upper gastrointestinal events occur in 2 to 4 percent of patients who are taking nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). We assessed whether rofecoxib, a selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2, would be associated with a lower incidence of clinically important upper gastrointestinal events than is the nonselective NSAID naproxen among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. ⋯ In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, treatment with rofecoxib, a selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2, is associated with significantly fewer clinically important upper gastrointestinal events than treatment with naproxen, a nonselective inhibitor.