Report of a double-blind crossover study of flurbiprofen and placebo in detrusor instability.

Thirty-seven elderly patients with idiopathic detrusor instability attending St. Pancras Hospital were entered into a double-blind crossover study of the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor flurbiprofen (50 mg four times a day) and placebo, and twenty-seven patients completed the crossover. Flurbiprofen was significantly better than placebo in increasing the maximum contractile pressure. Flurbiprofen also significantly reduced the total number of voids and the number of urgent voids compared to baseline. Those patients whose volume to first contraction at baseline was less than 100 cm3 had further significant beneficial effects with flurbiprofen (increased volume at first sensation, volume at first contraction and total bladder capacity). Significant beneficial effects of placebo treatment (compared to baseline) were found for volume at first sensation and volume at first contraction, but only in those patients whose volume to first contraction at baseline was less than 50 cm3 and 100 cm3, respectively.