Ketoprofen/acetaminophen GI effects
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Seven-day study involving 24 healthy subjects finds "even at lower (OTC) doses (75 mg/day) ketoprofen is associated with significant gastrointestinal irritation," researchers from Houston Institute of Clinical Research and McNeil Consumer Products (Tylenol) report. Published in the July American Journal of Gastroenterology, the randomized, double-blind, three-way crossover study compared ketoprofen with acetaminophen 4,000 mg/day. "The acetaminophen group showed no difference from placebo," while two subjects on ketoprofen developed "frank gastric ulcers," Frank Lanza, MD, et al. note. The Aspirin Foundation of America said the study is "obviously biased and...dangerously misleading." Bayer (Actron) and Whitehall-Robins (Orudis KT) sell OTC ketoprofen products...