British Journal of Sports Medicine 2007;41:134-139
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Topical ketoprofen TDS patch versus diclofenac gel: efficacy and tolerability in benign sport related soft-tissue injuries
1 Centro Médico Juan XXIII, Murcia, Spain
2 Hospital Modelo, La Coruña, Spain
3 Centro de Medicina General y Deporte, Toledo, Spain
4 Hospital Miguel Domínguez, Pontevedra, Spain
5 Servicios Médicos de la Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia, Spain
6 Sanatorio Begoña, Gijón, Spain and SETRADE (Spanish Society of Sports Traumatology), Barcelona, Spain
Correspondence to:
Profesor F Esparza
Cátedra de Traumatología del Deporte, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia, Campus de los Jerónimos s/n, 30107 Guadalupe (Murcia), Spain; fesparza{at}pdi.ucam.edu
Objective: To compare the ketoprofen TDS patch with diclofenac gel in the treatment of traumatic acute pain in benign sport-related soft-tissue injuries.
Design: 7–14 treatment days, prospective, randomised, open study.
Patients: Outpatients aged 18–70 years diagnosed for painful benign sport-related soft-tissue injury (sprains, strains and contusions within the prior 48 h), randomised to either ketoprofen patch 100 mg once daily (n = 114) or diclofenac gel 2–4 g three times daily (n = 109).
Intervention: 7–14 days of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs treatment to assess the pain intensity changes (daily activities and spontaneous at rest) in a daily diary (100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)).
Main outcome measurement: Pain intensity (VAS).
Results: The ketoprofen patch was not inferior to diclofenac gel in reducing the baseline pain during daily activities (difference of –1.17 mm in favour of ketoprofen patch, 95% CI (–5.86 to 3.52), reducing to the baseline VAS 79%. Ketoprofen patch presented also a higher cure rate (64%) than diclofenac gel (46%) at day 7 (p = 0.004). Patient opinions about the treatment comfort (pharmaceutical shape, application and dosage) were also statistically higher for the ketoprofen patch (>80% of the patients rated as good or excellent the patch removal and skin adherence).
Conclusion: Ketoprofen patches are effective and safe pain relievers for the treatment of sports injury pain with advantages compared with diclofenac gel.
Abbreviations: LOCF, last observation carried forward; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale
COMMENTARY
7 Ashford Medical Centre, San Juan, PR, USA; drsan{at}prtc.net
COMMENTARY
8 Orthosports, Strathfield, Australia; m.cusi{at}unsw.edu.au
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