Comparison of the efficacy and tolerance of isoxicam and piroxicam following surgery for skiing accidents.

1 A 10 day double-blind study was carried out comparing isoxicam (300 mg day-1) and piroxicam (40 mg day-1 for the first two days and 20 mg day-1 for the remaining days) following surgery in patients who had sustained skiing accidents. There were 20 patients in each group. The isoxicam-treated group had a slightly greater mean pain score prior to treatment. 2 Both isoxicam and piroxicam reduced pain and nocturnal awakening at days 5 and 10, but isoxicam was significantly superior to piroxicam in producing improvement in pain (at day 5, P less than 0.05) and in nocturnal awakenings (at day 10, P less than 0.05). 3 Both agents facilitated rehabilitation and there was no significant difference between them in this regard. 4 All patients in both groups considered themselves 'better' or 'much better' on day 5 of treatment. 5 Both agents were well tolerated by most patients but one patient in each group left the trial because of abdominal pain. One patient stopped isoxicam when she was found to be pregnant.