A Double‐Blind, Parallel Comparison of Ketoprofen, Aspirin, and Placebo in Patients With Postpartum Pain

Our purpose was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of single oral doses of ketoprofen 25, 50, and 100 mg compared with aspirin 650 mg and placebo in the relief of moderate to severe postepisiotomy, uterine cramping, or cesarean section pain. One hundred and fifty‐six patients participated in a randomized, double‐blind, stratified, parallel‐group study. They were observed over a six‐hour period by one nurse‐observer. Several of the standard summary measures of analgesia were derived from the interview data, including the sum of pain intensity differences (SPID) and the sum of the hourly relief values (TOTAL). The study showed significant differences between aspirin and placebo for four‐hour SPID and several other parameters and between ketoprofen at all dose levels and placebo for the four‐ and six‐hour SPID and many other parameters. The two higher doses of ketoprofen were significantly more effective than aspirin as assessed by the four‐ and six‐hour SPID, TOTAL, and other summary measures. The low dose of ketoprofen, although not significantly different from aspirin for SPID and TOTAL, showed a significantly faster onset of relief and had a better global rating. This study suggests that 50 mg of ketoprofen may be the clinical dose of choice as an analgesic. There were no adverse effects reported.