Bhatt, A DSane, S PVaidya, A BBolar, H V1993-09-012009-05-301993-09-012009-05-301993-09-01Bhatt AD, Sane SP, Vaidya AB, Bolar HV. Patterns of rheumatic diseases and antirheumatic drug usage in 11931 Indian patients. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India. 1993 Sep; 41(9): 571-2http://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/86901Patterns of rheumatic diseases and antirheumatic drug usage in different regions of India were analysed. The data was collected from a post-marketing surveillance of diclofenac sodium (Voveran) in 11931 patients. The common conditions were-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 28.1%, osteoarthrosis (OA) 24.8%, soft-tissue rheumatism 12.4%, cervical spondylosis 6%, ankylosing spondylitis (AS) 3.5%, gout 2%. East zone had a significantly lower proportion of osteoarthritis (20.9%). The age distribution and sex ratios of RA, OA and AS were in line with literature reports. The severity of illness was moderate in 62% and duration was more than 6 months in 50.2%. Data on NSAID usage showed a preponderance of combinations and ibuprofen. There were no significant differences in NSAID usage across diseases or regions.engAdolescentAdultAge DistributionDiclofenac --therapeutic useFemaleHumansIndia --epidemiologyMaleMiddle AgedRheumatic Diseases --drug therapySex RatioJournal Article