In a randomized, single-dose, double-blind, parallel comparative trial of
analgesic efficacy, 96 adult patients received either 10 mg
ketorolac tromethamine or 400 mg
glafenine orally the morning after surgery if they requested
pain relief medication. Each patient provided a baseline
pain assessment and then received the assigned medication. Patients assessed
pain intensity and
pain relief and reported any adverse events in interviews held 30 minutes after
drug administration and then hourly for 6 hours. The demographic characteristics, baseline
pain intensity, and surgical categories of the 47 patients who received
ketorolac tromethamine and the 49 who received
glafenine were similar. Both drugs provided prompt, sustained
pain relief throughout the 6-hour observation period, and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in any of the efficacy measures analyzed. The global assessment recorded by patients suggested a slight clinical advantage for
ketorolac tromethamine (32.6% of 'excellent' responses) as compared to
glafenine (12.5% 'excellent'). The differences in overall response were statistically significant (p = 0.017). Fourteen (30%) patients who received
ketorolac tromethamine and 17 (35%) who received
glafenine reported adverse experiences that began or seemed to worsen after administration of the study drugs. The most prominent were drowsiness and sleeping, both of which are common in post-surgical patients.