Analgesic efficacy and acceptability of fenoprofen combined with paracetamol and compared with dihydrocodeine tartrate in general practice

A single-blind between-patient study in general practice was made to examine the acceptability and analgesic efficacy of a combination of fenoprofen (200 mg) and paracetamol (500 mg) given 3 to 4 times daily for a period of 4 to 14 days in the treatment of acute and chronic pain. The combination was compared with dihydrocodeine tartrate (30 mg) in two groups of 75 patients suffering from a wide variety of presenting conditions, including osteo-arthritis, spondylitis, lumbago, sciatica, non-articular rheumatism and trauma. Clinical and patient assessment indicated that the combination was an effective analgesic combination, significantly better in success rate than dihydrocodeine tartrate and with a much lower incidence of side-effects (13% of patients receiving fenoprofen and paracetamol reported side-effects compared to 37% for the dihydrocodeine group). The combination demonstrated particular success in the treatment of non-articular rheumatism.