It is a cause for serious concern that many at-risk patients in Holland use OTC NSAIDs, presumably without knowing the risk they take.1 However, the authors do not indicate in their paper whether their questionnaire asked only about oral preparations. Topical NSAIDs are very popular in the UK and it is likely that they are much safer (though perhaps also much less effective), and if some of the patients in this survey used these, the results would be less worrying. The wording of the questionnaire is therefore crucial, but is not disclosed even in the online version of the article. Nor do the authors indicate which NSAIDs their sample admitted to using, and there are huge differences in gastrointestinal risk between the different drugs.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2014
