PERI-ARTICULAR INJECTION OF TENOXICAM FOR PAINFUL SHOULDERS - A DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

Eighty out-patients (50 F, 30 M), aged 58 +/- 12 years (range: 26-84) and weighing 72 +/- 10 kg (range: 50-97), presenting with an acute or subacute (<3 months) episode of rotator cuff tendinitis without (n = 2 8) or with movement restriction (n = 52) of the shoulder and having a pain intensity of at least 4 on VAS for pain at rest or on active move ment, were treated at random and in double blind conditions for 1 to 4 weeks with 1 weekly periarticular anterior injection of tenoxicam 20 mg or placebo. Tenoxicam treated patients improved more than placebo-i njected patients in a statistically highly significant manner with reg ard to clinical index, pain on VAS during active movement and at rest, active mobility (degrees), pain or pressure and clinical global impre ssion (assessed by investigator and patient). There was a nonsignifica nt opinion that placebo treated patients consumed more rescue medicati on. Safety assessments were not significantly better in the placebo-tr eated patients through local tolerability tended to be better in that group. These results indicate that tenoxicam 20 mg injected locally is effective in alleviating pain and in improving shoulder mobility in p atients with a painful shoulder episode and suggest that such a treatm ent is safe and well tolerated. Local injection of tenoxicam seems to be a promising new treatment of acute, painful, local inflammatory pro cesses in Rheumatology, Orthopaedics, Physical Medicine and Sports Med icine. Further studies in other pathologies are warranted.