A comparative study of gastrointestinal bleeding during administration of ketoprofen and naproxen

The gastrointestinal blood losses arising after ketoprofen and naproxen therapy were studied in 12 male volunteers. A 51Cr-technique was used and the study was carried out using a double-blind crossover design. The median daily blood losses were 3.3 and 1.2 ml after ketoprofen and naproxen, respectively. Both preparations caused significantly increased gastrointestinal blood losses compared with preceding control periods, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two preparations.