Naproxen sodium and paracetamol/dextropropoxyphene in sports injuries - a multicentre comparative study

This paper follows up a previous paper reported in this journal. This study was a single-blind parallel comparison of naproxen sodium ("Synflex") and a paracetamol/dextropropoxyphene combination ("Distalgesic"). It was carried out in 184 patients suffering from soft-tissue disorders recruited from four centres. More patients were considered cured and the pain score was significantly lower after seven days' treatment in the naproxen sodium ("NS") group. For those patients who received 14 days' treatment the total symptom score was significantly lower in the naproxen sodium group at the end of treatment. Two patients in the NS treatment group withdrew from the study due to lack of efficacy. Fewer side-effects were reported in the NS group. Of the eight patients stopping treatment due to side-effects, two were in the naproxen sodium group and six in the paracetamol/dextropropoxyphene ("control") group. The results suggest that a better clinical response to treatment and fewer side-effects may be obtained with naproxen sodium than with paracetamol/dextropropoxyphene in the treatment of soft-tissue injuries.