Metamizole: A Review Profile of a Well-Known “Forgotten” Drug. Part II: Clinical Profile

ABSTRACT

Part I of this review provided the pharmaceutical and non-clinical profile of metamizole, a non-narcotic analgesic with excellent analgesic and antipyretic effects. Metamizole is banned drug in many countries (United States, Japan, Australia, part of the European Union and nearly 30 other countries) for more than 40 years, where it is completely unknown or forgotten, while it is still freely available over-the-counter drug in many other countries, including Bulgaria. The drug's availability in oral and parenteral preparations has allowed its use in a range of clinical situations as monotherapy or in combination. It is known with different generic names, like metamizole, dipyrone, noramidopyrine, sulpyrine, novaminsulfon, methylmelubrin, etc. and marketed under hundreds of brand names worldwide. The objective of Part II of this review is to provide up-to-date scientific evidence for clinical safety and efficacy of the drug, as well as the place of metamizole in Bulgarian pharmaceutical market.

Keywords:

• metamizole
• NSAIDS
• agranulocytosis
• clinical trials
• safety
• efficacy