Clinical experiences with the intramuscular injection of tiaprofenic acid in rheumatic diseases, with particular emphasis on time of onset and duration of the analgesic effect.

The efficacy of intramuscular tiaprofenic acid (TA) was investigated in 3 separate studies: a multicentre open study involving 487 patients with various rheumatic conditions: an open study of 31 patients with active osteoarthritis of the knee; and an open comparative study with ketoprofen involving 30 patients with acute gout. In each of the studies tiaprofenic acid was given at a dose of 200mg intramuscularly twice daily for 5 days. In addition to clinical efficacy and tolerance, the time of onset and duration of the analgesic effect were also assessed. Significant improvements in both pain intensity and inflammation were seen in 60 to 70% of all patients in the 3 studies (p less than 0.0001). Benefits from tiaprofenic acid injection were noted within 60 minutes by about 47% of the patients with acute gout and about 85% of the whole group of patients enrolled in the multicentre study. The analgesic effect lasted from 8 to 12 hours in about 52% of the latter patients, and the overall effect was assessed as either good, very good or excellent in 62.5 to 100% of patients. Results from the comparative study with ketoprofen in acute gout patients showed a better and faster beneficial effect in the group receiving tiaprofenic acid. Thus the intramuscular administration of tiaprofenic acid at a dose of 200mg twice daily for 5 days to 533 patients with different rheumatic conditions resulted in good analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities with a rapid and sustained effect, and was also well tolerated.