A double-blind comparison of meptazinol versus placebo in chronic rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-patient evaluation of the analgesic properties of oral meptazinol was carried out in 60 patients suffering from chronic pain due to rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Patients were allocated, at random, to receive either 200 mg meptazinol every 3 to 6 hours as required or identical matching placebo for a total period of 72 hours. Data from 57 patients (30 on meptazinol, 27 on placebo) were suitable for analysis. Pain intensity in five major categories was assessed using a 4-point verbal rating scale by a clinician before the first dose and at the end of the trial period. Patients performed a self-assessment of pain prior to taking the first dose and subsequently at 2,4,24, 48 and 72 hours using 100 mm visual analogue scales and verbal rating scales. The clinician-rated pain scores showed no significant difference between the two groups in initial pain intensity. After 72-hours' treatment , there was a significant (p less than l.01) reduction in pain intensity after 2 hours which was maintained throughout the trial period. There was no significant reduction in pain intensity inpatients taking placebo. Visual analogue scale scores and pain intensity difference scores showed significantly (p less than 0.01) greater reduction in pain intensity at all time points in the meptazinol- treated patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Paracetamol plus metoclopramide ('Paramax') as an adjunct analgesic in the treatment of arthritis.

In a 12-week crossover study, a formulation of paracetamol (500 mg) and metoclopramide (5 mg) was compared with paracetamol (500 mg) alone for adjunct analgesia in 39 patients with arthritis. Most were on stabilized therapy with anti-inflammatory drugs and all had a history of a tendency to develop gastro-intestinal symptoms. Patients were allocated at random to receive 2 tablets 3-times daily of either treatment for 6 weeks and were then crossed over to the alternative treatment at the same dosage for a further 6 weeks. The results showed that the paracetamol/metoclopramide formulation appeared more effective as an analgesic than paracetamol alone and gave a highly significant reduction in the mean score for upper gastro-intestinal symptoms when compared with paracetamol. There were no side-effects associated with the metoclopramide component. It is concluded that the paracetamol/metoclopramide formulation is a suitable adjunct analgesic for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in those patients prone to gastro-intestinal disturbance.

A trial of Lotussin and linctus diphenhydramine in patients wth an irritant cough.

Lotussin and linctus diphenhydramine were compared for efficacy and patient preference in fifty patients suffering from post-infective cough. The trial was a single-blind randomized crossover one which was subjected to sequential analysis based on patient preferences. Under the conditions of the trial there appeared to be a significant difference in favour of Lotussin (p less than 0-01).