Oral meloxicam is effective in acute sciatica: two randomised, double-blind trials versus placebo or diclofenac

Objective: Two randomised, double-blind double-dummy trials evaluated the e fficacy and tolerability of meloxicam compared with placebo or diclofenac i n patients with acute sciatica. Subjects: 1021 patients with acute sciatica. Treatment and methods: In the first study, 532 patients received meloxicam 7.5 mg, meloxicam 15 mg, or pl acebo for 7 days. The second study randomised 489 patients to meloxicam 7.5 mg, meloxicam 15 mg, or diclofenac 150 mg for 14 days. Results: Meloxicam 7.5 mg and 15 mg significantly improved overall pain bet ween baseline and day 7 (p<0.05) compared with placebo. Furthermore, both m eloxicam doses showed similar improvements on all primary and secondary eff icacy endpoints compared with diclofenac 150 mg. No significant differences in tolerability were observed between any of the treatment groups in eithe r study. Conclusions: Meloxicam (7.5 mg or 15 mg) was well tolerated and was more ef fective than placebo, and as effective as diclofenac, in acute sciatica.