Prescription Arthritis Painkillers Not Worth Price

HealthDay, May, 2003

MONDAY, May 19 (HealthDayNews) -- Which painkiller is best for older people with arthritis -- over-the-counter drugs that costs pennies or prescription drugs that can run more than 10 times as much?

Researchers crunched the numbers and reported Monday that the typical patient doesn't need the more expensive medications, even if they're a slight bit safer than the cheap ones.

Except in special cases, arthritis patients should avoid the costly drugs, which are selective cox-2 inhibitors commonly known by the brand names Celebrex and Vioxx, said study co-author Dr. Brennan Spiegel, a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles.

"They need to know if they're paying out of pocket for this medicine, it's probably not worth it unless they've had a problem...

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