Intravenous dipyrone for the acute treatment of episodic tension-type headache. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study
Braz. j. med. biol. res
; 35(10): 1139-1145, Oct. 2002. tab, graf
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-326240
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Acute headaches are responsible for a significant percentage of the case load at primary care units and emergency rooms in Brazil. Dipyrone (metamizol) is easily available in these settings, being the most frequently used drug. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study to assess the effect of dipyrone in the acute treatment of episodic tension-type headache. Sixty patients were randomized to receive placebo (intravenous injection of 10 ml saline) or 1 g dipyrone in 10 ml saline. We used seven parameters of analgesic evaluation. The patients receiving dipyrone showed a statistically significant improvement (P<0.05) of pain compared to placebo up to 30 min after drug administration. The therapeutic gain was 30 percent in 30 min and 40 percent in 60 min. The number of patients needed to be treated for at least one to have benefit was 3.3 in 30 min and 2.2 in 60 min. There were statistically significant reductions in the recurrence (dipyrone = 25 percent, placebo = 50 percent) and use of rescue medication (dipyrone = 20 percent, placebo = 47.6 percent) for the dipyrone group. Intravenous dipyrone is an effective drug for the relief of pain in tension-type headache and its use is justified in the emergency room setting:
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
LILACS
Main subject:
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
/
Dipyrone
/
Tension-Type Headache
Type of study:
Controlled clinical trial
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Medicine
Year:
2002
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
/
United States
Institution/Affiliation country:
Albert Einstein School of Medicine/US
/
Universidade de Säo Paulo/BR