AN OPEN-LABEL MULTICENTER OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF THE EFFICACY, TOLERABILITY, AND SAFETY OF THE NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG AMTOLMETIN GUACIL IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND DYSPEPSIA

Objective: to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of amtolmetin guacil (AMG; Niselat®, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, India) versus previous therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and signs of dyspepsia.Subjects and methods. The open-label observational study included 220 patients aged 30–65 years who suffered from knee OA and intense pain during NSAID intake and had symptoms of dyspepsia in the absence of contraindications to the use of AMG. Among the comorbidities that generally occurred in 68% of the patients, there was a preponderance of hypertension (42%), lower extremity varicose veins (6.4%), and diabetes mellitus (6%). Treatment efficacy was evaluated using three domains of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), by also taking into account pain intensity and general health assessment on the visual analogue scale. A Severity of Dyspepsia Assessment (SODA) scale was used to rate dyspepsia.Results and discussion. AMG had a marked analgesic effect confirmed by 40% or more pain reduction that occurred in 72.5% of the patients. The high analgesic effect of AMG was confirmed by a statistically significant (p