Vioxx Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vioxx, including details on osteoarthritis, side-effects, trials, stroke, heart attack. | ||||||||
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The effect of three cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors on intensity of primary dysmenorrheic pain.Chantler I, Mitchell D, Fuller A Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, University of Witwatersrand, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa. ingrid.chantler@wits.ac.za OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of 3 different cyclo-oxygenase (COX) inhibitors on primary dysmenorrheic pain. METHOD: Eleven female patients self-medicated with either placebo (sugar), 25 mg of the COX-2 specific inhibitor rofecoxib, 50 mg of the nonselective COX inhibitor diclofenac potassium, or 7.5 mg of the COX-2 selective inhibitor meloxicam, over 4 menstrual cycles. Pain was assessed using the McGill Pain Questionnaire and a visual analog scale. RESULTS: The pain response index, present pain index, and visual analog scale were highly correlated as measures of intensity of pain (r=0.81 to 0.96, P<0.0001). Rofecoxib and diclofenac potassium both decreased the duration of dysmenorrheic pain compared with placebo (P<0.001) and with meloxicam (P<0.01), and were equally effective in improving pain, compared with placebo, after each capsule (P<0.001). When compared with placebo, both drugs also provided 50% or more pain relief, after each capsule (P<0.0048). Meloxicam, although superior to placebo, was not as effective as rofecoxib and diclofenac potassium in reducing pain, and when compared with placebo, was associated with providing 50% or more of pain relief only after the third and fourth capsules (P=0.016). CONCLUSIONS: Rofecoxib and diclofenac potassium, when taken in recommended doses, were equally effective in alleviating pain associated with primary dysmenorrhea. Published 8 January 2008 in Clin J Pain, 24(1): 39-44.
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