Prescription patterns and appropriateness of NSAID therapy according to gastrointestinal risk and cardiovascular history in patients with diagnoses of osteoarthritis.

Background: Prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be based on the assessment of both gastrointestinal (GI) and cardiovascular (CV) risk for the individual patient. We aimed to assess the GI/CV risk profile and the pharmacological management of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in clinical practice.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicentre, observational study of consecutive OA patients that visited 1,760 doctors throughout the Spanish National Health System (NHS) in a single day.