Hao, J., Wang, K., Shao, Y., Cheng, X., & Yan, Z. (2013). Intravenous flurbiprofen axetil to relieve cancer-related multiple breakthrough pain: A clinical study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 16, 190–192.
To compare the effects of immediate-release morphine to those of flurbiprofen axetil in the treatment of cancer-related breakthrough pain
For the treatment of cancer-related breakthrough pain, patients in the flurbiprofen group received 50–100 mg flurbiprofen axetil IV and patients in the control group received a proportional dose of immediate-release morphine. Incidents of breakthrough pain were assessed for three days.
Two-group observational study
Average time to meaningful pain relief following administration of the rescue medication was 16 minutes in the flurbiprofen group and 27.3 minutes in the morphine group (p < 0.01). Patients in the flurbiprofen group and the morphine group received significant reduction in pain, from an average of 7 to 2.2 or 3.0, respectively, on the VAS. The number of breakthrough episodes was significantly lower in the fluribprofen group than in the morphine group (p = 0.000). Most patients needed 50 mg flurbiprofen; only five patients required a dose increase. No serious complications were observed. The prevalence of side effects was similar in both groups
IV flurbiprofen may be an effective intervention for cancer-related breakthrough pain.
Flurbiprofen appears to be a promising agent for the management of cancer-related breakthrough pain. This study has several limitations. Further research regarding flurbiprofen is warranted.