Pharmacological profile of droxicam

In Studies of anti-inflammatory activity, droxicam has shown itself to be as active as piroxicam and much more active than phenylbutazone, isoxicam and suprofen, both in acute studies such as carrageenin oedema, nystatin oedema and ultraviolet erythema, and in longer-term tests such as that of the cotton pellet. In the studies of anti-arthritic activity, which require long-term treatment, droxicam was as effective as piroxicam, both on primary and on secondary lesions. The study of analgaesic activity, conducted by means of the tests of protective activity against writhing induced by phenylbenzoquinone and acetylcholine bromide in the mouse and by acetic acid in the rat, droxicam activity was superior to that of acetylsalicylic acid, dipyrone, isoxicam and phenylbutazone. Droxicam also showed antipyretic activity in the rat, greater than that of acetylsalicylic acid, dipyrone and 4-aminoantipyrine, in the brewer's yeast and Salmonella typhi tests. Droxicam also acts as an ex vivo platelet aggregation inhibitor in the dog. In the study of inhibition of peritoneal capillary permeability in the mouse, droxicam was considerably more potent than isoxicam or phenylbutazone. Studies of general pharmacology have demonstrated that droxicam, at high doses, has no cardiovascular or respiratory effects, and that neither does it modify behaviour in rats and mice, determined by the Irwin test. Gastrointestinal tolerance of droxicam has been compared with that of piroxicam, and it has been found that droxicam is far better tolerated. The study of induction of gastrointestinal lesions in the rat demonstrated that the gastrolesive potential of droxicam is 10 times inferior to that of piroxicam.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)