Int J Clin Pharm Th
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Int J Clin Pharm Th · Nov 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy and tolerability of flupirtine in subacute/ chronic musculoskeletal pain - results of a patient level, pooled re-analysis of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials.
Flupirtine, a nonopioid analgesic without antipyretic or antiphlogistic properties, constitutes a unique class within the group of WHO-I analgesics. First approved in Germany on a national level in 1989, this selective neuronal potassium channel opener evolved rapidly into one of the most preferred analgesics for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain in some European countries. However, its use outside Europe was limited due to a discrepancy between the empirical application of the drug and supporting evidence. As a consequence, the German Pain Society commissioned an independent research institute to perform a pooled re-analysis of all available data from randomized controlled trials (including some trial not yet published). ⋯ On the basis of this pooled analysis of individual data from 8 controlled clinical trials involving patients suffering from sub-acute/chronic musculoskeletal pain, the efficacy of flupirtine was superior to placebo across its effective and approved dosage range. Flupirtine was at least as active as the active comparators and showed a superior tolerability profile with a significantly lower treatment discontinuation rate.