A doubie-blind, between-patient comparison of alclofenac (‘Prinalgin’) and indomethacin in the treatment of low back pain and sciatica

Summary

A double-blind, between-patient comparison of alclofenac and indomethacin was carried out in 60 patients with low back pain and sciatica. Pain, functional disability and signs of dural irritation (Laségue's sign) were rated by the clinician before and at the end of each 7-day treatment period, and an overall assessment of treatment effectiveness was made by both clinician and patients.

Response to treatment in terms of patient improvement was considered satisfactory with both drugs, but more erratic in those patients with an acute condition. Analysis of pain scores showed a significant tendency for patients with acute or chronic low back pain to improve more with alclofenac than with indomethacin treatment. Overall assessments by the clinician and patients also indicated signiJcantly greater improvement with alclofenac.

Key words::

• Backache
• sciatica
• alclofenac
• indomethacin