A double-blind, randomized, phase III clinical trial was conducted to compare nimesulide's safety and efficacy with diclofenac in patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the hips and knees.

The study recruited 67 participants having osteoarthritis of the hips and knees and visiting the out patients department of the orthopaedic division. Participants were assigned randomly to either nimesulide (n=35) group or the diclofenac (n=32) group. The assessment of pain was done.

Nimesulide offered better pain relief in comparison with diclofenac. In the diclofenac arm, a considerable percentage of the patients were found to have elevated pain that warranted the utilization of at least two tablets of 500 mg paracetamol per week in comparison with the nimesulide arm, as shown in the following table:

Substantial differences were witnessed in the occurrence of adverse effects between both the groups (p<0.05), as depicted in the following figure:  

Nimesulide was found to be linked with fewer gastrointestinal side effects compared to diclofenac. In this study, the most common side effects were heartburn and nausea that were lower in the nimesulide group compared to the diclofenac group, as depicted below:

Nimesulide appears to be a promising agent for managing pain in osteoarthritis of the hip and knees and has fewer gastrointestinal side effects in comparison with diclofenac.