Randomized Double-Blind Comparison of Intravenous Ibuprofen and Dexketoprofen in the Acute Treatment of Tension-Type Headache

Abstract: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used routinely and first choice in the acute treatment of tension-type headaches(TTH). The aim of this study is to compare the analgesic efficacy of parenterally administered single dose dexketoprofen and ibuprofen in the treatment of TTH. Our study was designed in a randomized, double-blind model. Patients with tension headache were randomized to dexketoprofen and ibuprofen groups. Pain scores of the patients were recorded at 0, 15, 30, and 60 minutes with a 10-unit Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Of these patients, 45 (50%) were included in the group to receive dexketoprofen treatment, and 45 (50%) to receive ibuprofen treatment. In total, 54 of our patients were female and 36 were male. The differences in mean NRS scores in the group treated with analgesic 1 were 2.0, 4.0, 5.22, 6.0 at the end of the 5th, 15th, 30th and 60th minutes, respectively, and 2, 5, 6.36, 7 for analgesic 2, respectively. While there was no significant difference between drug efficacy at all time points except the 30th minute, the efficacy of ibuprofen in reducing pain was more significant at the 30th minute (p=.015). As a result of our study, there was no significant difference between the analgesic efficacy of parenterally administered dexketoprofen 50 mg and ibuprofen 800 mg at the end of the 60th minute, while ibuprofen 800 mg was superior in terms of analgesic efficacy at the 30th minute.