Analgesic Efficacy and Safety Comparison of Ketorolac Tromethamine and Doleron for the Alleviation of Orthopaedic Post-Operative Pain

The analgesic efficacy and safety of ketorolac tromethamine (ketorolac), a potent analgesic with anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities, were evaluated and compared with Doleron, a combination analgesic, in 115 patients with moderate to severe orthopaedic post-operative pain. This was a randomized, double-blind (double-dummy), parallel-group comparison of a single oral dose of one capsule of 10 mg ketorolac with a single oral dose of two Doleron tablets (each tablet contained 150 mg dextropropoxyphene napsylate, 350 mg aspirin and 150 mg phenazone). During the 6 h following treatment, 80% of ketorolac treated patients and 82% of Doleron treated patients experienced adequate pain relief. There were no statistically significant differences in the overall analgesic efficacy between the treatment groups. Three patients (one on ketorolac, two on Doleron) withdrew because of adverse events (vomiting). Nausea (two patients in each treatment group), vertigo (none on ketorolac, three on Doleron) and sore throat (none on ketorolac, two on Doleron) were the only drug-related adverse events reported by more than one person in a treatment group during the trial. A total of 82% of patients given ketorolac and 76% given Doleron experienced no adverse events. A single oral dose of 10 mg ketorolac was shown to be as effective and safe as two Doleron tablets in the treatment of moderate to severe orthopaedic post-operative pain.