• Peter Black, Mitchell B Max, Paul Desjardins, Thomas Norwood, Alfredo Ardia, and Teresa Pallotta.
• Scirex Corporation Inc, Austin, Texas 78705, USA.
• Clin Ther. 2002 Jul 1;24(7):1072-89.

BackgroundBecause of its enhanced pharmacokinetic characteristics, ibuprofen arginate might be expected to provide faster pain relief than standard ibuprofen formulations in patients experiencing acute pain.ObjectiveThis study assessed the analgesic efficacy, speed of onset, and tolerability of ibuprofen arginate compared with a commercially available form of ibuprofen in patients with postoperative dental pain.MethodsPatients were randomized to receive ibuprofen arginate 200 or 400 mg, ibuprofen 200 or 400 mg, or placebo in this multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group trial. Patients were observed for 6 hours after administration of a single dose of study medication. A repeated-dose, open-label phase followed. Pain intensity and pain relief were measured using traditional verbal descriptor scales; onset of analgesia was assessed using 2 stopwatches to measure the time to achievement of specific pain relief criteria.ResultsA total of 498 patients (219 men, 279 women; mean age, 21.5 years) participated in this study. Baseline pain was moderate in 388 patients (78%) and severe in 110 patients (22%). Meaningful pain relief was reached after a median of 29 and 28 minutes with ibuprofen arginate 200 and 400 mg, respectively, and after 52 and 44 minutes with ibuprofen 200 and 400 mg, respectively (all, P < 0.05). The percentages of patients who achieved meaningful pain relief within the first hour after treatment were 77.6% and 83.7% for ibuprofen arginate 200 and 400 mg, respectively, 61.0% and 63.0% for ibuprofen 200 and 400 mg, respectively, and 39.8% for placebo. The differences between ibuprofen arginate and ibuprofen were statistically significant (both doses, P < 0.05). Significantly greater numbers of patients achieved meaningful pain relief with ibuprofen arginate 400 mg compared with placebo from 20 minutes through 6 hours and with ibuprofen arginate 200 mg from 30 minutes through 6 hours (P < 0.05). Compared with placebo, a greater number of patients achieved meaningful pain relief with ibuprofen 400 mg from 45 minutes through 6 hours; with ibuprofen 200 mg. the corresponding interval was from I through 6 hours. After the first hour, pain reduction was similar for the similar doses of the 2 ibuprofen preparations. Median remedication times with both doses of ibuprofen arginate were similar to those with both doses of ibuprofen, ranging from 4.0 to 5.2 hours. Adverse-event profiles were similar between the 2 active medications.ConclusionsIbuprofen arginate was effective in this population of patients experiencing moderate to severe pain after surgical extraction of > or = 1 impacted third molar, with 16 to 24 minutes' faster time to meaningful pain relief than with ibuprofen. The 2 formulations had similar tolerability profiles.

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