english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2012 > Period pains: no self-medication with flurbiprofen

Spotlight: Archives

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

2012 : 1 | 30 | 60 | 90

Period pains: no self-medication with flurbiprofen

Flurbiprofen is not the first-line nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for treating period pains. The French drug regulatory agency was right to refuse to encourage its use as self-medication.

In 2011, the French drug regulatory agency refused the pharmaceutical company’s application to make flurbiprofen in tablet form available without a prescription as a treatment for period pains.

For period pains where there is no underlying illness, recourse to paracetamol or to a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with a more favourable adverse effects profile than that of flurbiprofen (e.g. ibuprofen) is the first-line treatment.

The trivialised use of NSAIDs has made people forget their severe adverse effects including gastrointestinal disorders, hypersensitivity and renal failure. Not to mention the risks of malformation in unborn infants if taken by pregnant women.

Many oral NSAIDs are already available without a prescription and adding to their number under different brand names is likely to lead to confusion. These factors increase the risk of taking several products containing a NSAID at the same time, exposing the public to the risk of overdose.

©Prescrire 1 July 2012

"Flurbiprofen without a prescription for dysmenorrhoea: rejected by French drugs agency" Prescrire Int 2012; 21 (129): 177.  (Pdf, subscribers only).
Download the full review.
Pdf, subscribers only