Response of pathological ischaemic muscle pain to analgesics

1 Twenty-four patients suffering from severe pain due to chronic occlusive arterial disease of the legs were given oral doses of indoprofen (200 mg), ibuprofen (300 mg) and placebo. 2 Differences in pain intensity scored on a five-point scale were taken as measurement of pain relief. 3 This double-blind, cross-over trial showed that indoprofen had significantly greater analgesic effect than placebo and reference drug. 4 From a methodological point of view there are many arguments on favour of pathological ischaemic pain as a test for clinical assessment of analgesics.