Diclofenac/misoprostol vs diclofenac/placebo in treating acute episodes of tendinitis/bursitis of the shoulder.

This was a double-blind study designed to compare the efficacy and tolerability of diclofenac/misoprostol and diclofenac in patients with acute tendinitis/bursitis of the shoulder. Diclofenac 50mg/misoprostol 200 micrograms (n = 185) or diclofenac 50mg (n = 187) was administered twice or 3 times daily for 14 days. Various physician's and patient's assessments performed during and at the end of treatment showed similar improvements with both treatments. Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting occurred somewhat more frequently with diclofenac/misoprostol, but patient withdrawals due to adverse events did not differ markedly between the groups. Thus, in the short term treatment of acute tendinitis/bursitis of the shoulder diclofenac/misoprostol possesses efficacy similar to that with diclofenac alone and provides the gastroprotective benefit of misoprostol. Previous studies in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have established diclofenac/misoprostol to be as effective as diclofenac but with significantly less gastrointestinal damage (Verdickt et al. 1992).