Comparative efficacy of oral flurbiprofen, intramuscular morphine sulfate, and placebo in the treatment of gynecologic postoperative pain

Abstract

This single-dose, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study compared the efficacy of 50 mg of oral flurbiprofen (Ansaid, Upjohn), 10 mg of intramuscular morphine sulfate, and placebo in 92 patients with moderate to severe postoperative gynecologic pain. According to pain intensity, pain relief, and pain intensity difference scores, the morphine-treated patients experienced significantly more pain reduction than the other patients by the first hour after treatment. The flurbiprofen group obtained the same level of significant pain relief as the morphine group by two hours after dosing, but relief persisted longer than in the morphine-treated patients. Evaluation of other efficacy variables revealed similar levels of significant pain reduction in both the flurbiprofen and morphine groups compared with the placebo group. Flurbiprofen was well tolerated and led to fewer side effects than either morphine or placebo.