Abstract
As pain is the main symptom that inflammatory arthritis patients report, analgesics are a major focus of their management. Simple analgesics such as paracetamol and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used. Both have risks when used long-term. A particular concern with long-term NSAID use is an increased risk of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal events such as myocardial infarction and gastro-oesophageal bleeding. This chapter will provide a broad overview of symptomatic drug treatments in inflammatory arthritis patients. It will focus on the different classes of available treatments, their relative merits and disadvantages, alongside their use in the different forms of inflammatory arthritis.
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Scott, I.C., Galloway, J.B., Scott, D.L. (2015). Symptomatic Drug Treatment. In: Inflammatory Arthritis in Clinical Practice. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6648-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6648-1_5
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