Abstract

We have studied the additive analgesic effect of Ibuprofen (Motrin) to other analgesics, such as Acetaminophen, Codeine, and Morphine Tincture, in 29 cancer patients with pain. Ibuprofen was administered 600 mg every 6 hour orally in addition to the other 3 drugs. Ibuprofen had additive analgesic effect only in mild or moderate pain (effectivity 77.8%) but not in severe pain. The drug was more effective in localized pain than in systemic pain (p<0.002), but the reported superiority of the drug in bone pain could not be confirmed. The adverse effects of Ibuprofen was minimal in frequency and severity. In twenty six of the 29 studied patients (89.7%), the pain could be controlled with these 4 drugs, alone or in combination.