Clinicopharmacological Studies On Ketoprofen (Orudis)

A study was made of the plasma and synovial fluid levels of ketoprofen after single oral doses of 50mg and 100mg given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The drug was rapidly absorbed and plasma levels were similar to those seen in healthy volunteers. The mean early half-life of keotprofen in both volunteers and patientd with rheumatoid arthritiswas 1.5 to 2 hours. An accumulative effect of ketoprofen was evident in the synovial fluid of the patients studied. A double-blind crossover trial of ketoprofen (200mg daily) compared with placebo and aspirin (4.0 g daily) was carried out in 24 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ketoprofen was shown to be significantly more effective than placebo in terms of pain relief, degree and duration of morning stiffness, articular index and patients' assessment of improvement. No significant differences were noted between ketoprofen and aspirin, although side effects were less with ketoprofen