Current medical research and opinion
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Efficacy of rofecoxib and nimesulide in controlling postextraction pain in oral surgery: a randomised comparative study.
Rofecoxib 50 mg/day for 6 days provided better postoperative analgesia than nimesulide 200 mg/day in a randomised trial in patients (n = 130) undergoing surgical extraction of third molars. The superiority of rofecoxib over nimesulide was especially marked during the first 2-3 postoperative days and in patients with fully impacted molars. The drugs had similar effects on clinical signs of local postoperative inflammation. The effectiveness of rofecoxib in this study, plus considerations of the toxicity profile of nimesulide, support the conclusion that rofecoxib is preferable to nimesulide for relief of post-operative pain in patients undergoing surgical extraction of molars.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fixed combination containing two plant extracts (Crataegus oxyacantha and Eschscholtzia californica) and magnesium in mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders.
To assess the clinical efficacy of a neurotonic component containing fixed quantities of two plant extracts (Crataegus oxyacantha and Eschscholtzia californica) and magnesium versus placebo in mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders with associated functional disturbances, under usual general practice prescription conditions. ⋯ The preparation containing fixed quantities of Crataegus oxyacantha, Eschscholtzia californica, and magnesium proved safe and more effective than placebo in treating mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders. Sympathyl is produced and marketed by Laboratoire Innotech International, Arcueil, France.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Adjustable maintenance dosing with budesonide/formoterol compared with fixed-dose salmeterol/fluticasone in moderate to severe asthma.
Current asthma guidelines recommend that patients are educated to adjust their medication according to their asthma severity using physician-guided self-management plans. However, many patients take a fixed dose of their controller medication and adjust their reliever medication according to asthma symptoms. ⋯ Adjustable maintenance dosing with budesonide/formoterol provides more effective asthma control by reducing exacerbations and reliever medication usage compared with fixed-dose salmeterol/fluticasone.
-
Editorial
Introduction: chronic pain studies of the lidocaine patch 5% using the Neuropathic Pain Scale.
The manifestation of pain in any individual patient may result from a variety of underlying mechanisms that also may vary from one disease state to another. Global measures of pain intensity and relief are inadequate for characterizing specific pain qualities or identifying the unique effects of pain treatments on different pain qualities. The Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) is a recently developed measure designed to assess distinct pain qualities and may allow differentiation of therapeutic effects, even in cases where global pain response may be similar. Three studies are presented that provide preliminary evidence for the utility of the NPS for characterizing distinct pain qualities and changes in pain qualities in patients treated with the lidocaine patch 5% for a variety of neuropathic and non-neuropathic chronic pain conditions, including low-back pain, osteoarthritis, post-herpetic neuralgia, and painful diabetic neuropathy.