Double-blind placebo-controlled comparison of the analgesic effects of single doses of lornoxicam and aspirin in patients with postoperative dental pain

Abstract

The pain experienced after third molar surgery was used as a model to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, lornoxicam, in a Phase II study. One hundred and fifty fit, young adults participated in this randomised, single dose, double-blind, parallel group clinical study. Three doses of lornoxicam (2 mg, 4 mg, and 8 mg) were compared with aspirin 650 mg and placebo. Patients suffering from moderate to severe pain following surgery were monitored for up to 8 hours. All indices of efficacy showed similar results, all active treatments being associated with highly significant (P less than 0.0001) reductions in pain during the study period. Lornoxicam 8 mg demonstrated significant analgesic efficacy as compared with placebo. The two lower doses of lornoxicam and aspirin all showed apparent degrees of efficacy intermediate between that of placebo and lornoxicam 8 mg, although the trial proved to have inadequate power to show significant differences between these three treatments. Lornoxicam was very well tolerated at all three doses studied, with no adverse events definitely attributable to its administration.