We compared
fenoprofen calcium, 200 mg;
fenoprofen calcium, 400 mg;
aspirin, 650 mg; and a placebo in 85 women for the relief of primary
dysmenorrhea in a double-blind, clinical trial. The usefulness of these drugs was judged from data obtained over four consecutive menstrual periods on: restriction of daily activity,
pain intensity scores, need for rescue
analgesics, withdrawal due to lack of efficacy, and adverse events. Both
fenoprofen, 200 mg, and
fenoprofen, 400 mg, offered significant (P less than .01)
pain relief when compared to placebo and
aspirin. Analyses of data on 1, 2 and 3 indicated that
aspirin was not significantly different from placebo. The
aspirin-treated group reported the greatest number of adverse reactions, but the differences between the four groups were not statistically significant. Our study lends support to the concept of a "plateau
analgesic effect" of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (
NSAIDs):
fenoprofen, 200 mg, appears to be as effective as
fenoprofen, 400 mg. When this type of
drug fails to provide relief for a woman suffering from primary
dysmenorrhea, switching to another
NSAID may be more appropriate than increasing the dosage and the probability of dosage-related side effects.