Indoprofen versus indomethacin in acute painful shoulder and other soft-tissue rheumatic complaints.

In a double-blind, parallel-group study indoprofen 800 mg daily was compared with indomethacin 100 mg daily in forty patients suffering from acute painful shoulder and other soft-tissue rheumatic complaints. Both drugs were administered orally for 14 days. Clinical assessments, carried out at baseline and on days 4, 8 and 15, included pain (at rest, upon pressure, on motion under load), quality of sleep, range of active motion and patient's opinion. A significant improvement in all variables was found for both indoprofen and indomethacin at each time of observation, almost reaching its maximum within the first week. Excellent or good results, as judged by the patients, were obtained in 90% of case in both treatment groups. No significant differences were observed between the two drugs. One patient taking indomethacin developed headache and dizziness, requiring discontinuation of treatment; three patients on indoprofen complained of mild or moderate gastric pain.