We explored the effectiveness of
loxoprofen sodium (loxoprofen), which is the most common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drug (
NSAID) in Japan, for patients with
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) complaining of
nocturia. A total of 93 BPH patients aged 49-84 years were enrolled in the study. These patients had received standard
drug therapy with alpha1-blocker for BPH, followed by
anticholinergic drugs,
hypnotics,
tricyclic antidepressants, and/or antiduretic
hormone, but they still complained about 2 or more episodes of
nocturia. They each took a single 60-mg
tablet of
loxoprofen prior to sleeping at night for 14 days in addition to their BPH treatments. The effects were assessed by questionnaire before and
after treatment as excellent (
nocturia disappeared or decreased by 2 or more voids/night), improved (
nocturia decreased by 1 void/night), unchanged, or worsened (
nocturia increased).
Nocturia improved or disappeared in 74.2% of patients: excellent, improved, unchanged, and worsened results were obtained in 37.6%, 36.6%, 21.5%, and 4.3% of patients, respectively. The effects were better in patients whose baseline
nocturia was > 2 times than in those with a lesser frequency at enrollment (P = 0.04).
Loxoprofen can be an effective and useful treatment option for patients with BPH complaining of refractory
nocturia.