Comparison of Efficacy of Ketoprofen and Ibuprofen in Treating Pain in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or other rheumatic diseases say that pain and stiffness are symptoms affecting their quality of life. Ketoprofen and ibuprofen are the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce inflammation and manage mild-to-moderate pain. The aim of this new systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was to compare the clinical efficacy of ketoprofen and ibuprofen in patients with RA. Methods: The MEDLINE and EMBASE scientific databases were systematically searched from their inception to November 2020 to identify RCTs directly comparing the recommended therapeutic doses of oral ketoprofen (50--200 mg/day) with ibuprofen (600--1800 mg/day) for RA pain relief. The metaanalysis was made using the standardized mean differences (SMD) of each of the identified RCTs using a fixed effects model. Results: Four RCTs involving 456 patients met the inclusion criteria. The results of the metaanalysis showed a statistically significant difference in efficacy in favor of ketoprofen (0.33, 95% CI 0.14-0.52, p = 0.0005) at all point-estimates of the mean-weighted size effect. The heterogeneity test for the efficacy outcome (the hypothesis was v 2 = 3.57%, df = 3, p value = 0.31 and the chance of a test effect was 3.49, p = 0.0005) was not significant, and this was confirmed by a Higgins percentage of 16%. The studies included in the meta-analysis did not reveal any significant differences between the two drugs in terms of tolerability or safety. Conclusions: The result of this meta-analysis shows that ketoprofen is more effective than ibuprofen in managing RA pain at therapeutic doses, thus supporting its use in clinical practice.

Pre-emptive Analgesic Efficacy of Single-Dose Transdermal Ketoprofen and Diclofenac Patches in Post-operative Pain Management Following Open Treatment of Mandibular Fractures: A Randomized Controlled Study

“…Similar results were observed by Velásquez et al [21]. Ketoprofen has an established efficacy over ibuprofen and diclofenac in sports injuries, orthopaedic and rheumatic pain [22]. In the present study, none of the patients experienced adverse effects or allergic reactions with the application of TDDS.…”

Agroindustrial waste application for drugs biosorption

“…Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal and has analgesic and antipyretic effects (PAROLINI, 2020), showing the combination with two active principles used to relieve rheumatic pain (ATZENI et al, 2021). Moreover, it is easy to get without a medical prescription and is not on the list of pharmaceutical assistance (RENAME) (BEHERA; OH; PARK, 2012).…”

Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Study of the Chinese Miao Medicine Sidaxue in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

“… 1–3 At present, there is no clinically effective drug for the treatment of RA, and commonly used drugs have certain unwanted side effects. 4 , 5 For example, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are drugs that are commonly used to improve the symptoms of arthritis, have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, however they cannot control the development of the disease and have obvious gastrointestinal reactions. Moreover, they can increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease.…”

“…Therefore, it is particularly necessary to develop new drugs which exhibit limited side effects and significant curative effects. 4–6 It is noteworthy that Chinese herbal medicine has the characteristics of multi-component, multi-pathway, and a multi-target action, with fewer side effects, and can play an important role in the prevention and treatment of RA diseases. 9–12 GTW is a classic Miao medicine with a clear curative effect in the treatment of RA among clinical drugs, and most studies of Chinese medicine formula use GTW as the positive drug, therefore, this study uses GTW as a positive control group.…”