Consumption of NSAIDs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis for pain control
Introduction: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in symptomatic relief of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS). With the use of NSAIDs, its adverse effects(AE) should be investigated. The pharmacological choice should therefore be personalized, taking into account the efficacy, potential toxicity, AE and cost.
Objectives: Evaluate the consumption of NSAIDs in patients with RA and AS followed at the Rheumatology Unit of Castelo Branco (RU-CB).
Materials and methods: Retrospective study in 135 patients of the RU-CB, from March/2013 to April/2019.DAS28, BASDAI and ASDAS and AVS were the instruments to evaluate the activity of RA, AS and pain, respectively. SPSSv24.0 software was used for statistical analysis.  
Results: Patients with RA were mainly women over 60 years, with duration of RA greater than 10 years, whereas patients with AS are mainly men between 40-50 years and duration of AS between 3-5 years. Most RA patients are in remission and have no pain/mild pain. Similarly, for AS, mild activity and no pain/mild pain. In both diseases, NSAIDs are the most consumed drugs. There are more patients who consume NSAIDs than those who do not (RA: p=0,000; AS: p=0,0215) and that pain is associated with RA (DAS28-CRP:p=0,001; DAS28-SR:p=0,000) and AS (ASDAS-CRP:p=0,048 and ASDAS-SR: p=0,009) activity scales. In cardiovascular(CV) and gastrointestinal (GI) study,5,5%,2,7% and 1,4% patients with RA were submitted to upper digestive endoscopy(UDE), cardiac catheterization and cardiac admission, respectively. In AS, only 22,2% were submitted to UDE.
Conclusion: In RU-CB, RA and AS are well controlled: remission/mild activity, absence of pain/mild pain and few CV and GI effects, with NSAIDs being the most consumed drugs. There are significant associations between pain-DAS28 and pain-ASDAS.

CONSUMPTION OF NSAIDS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS FOR PAIN CONTROL