Propinox in biliary colic: a multicenter, randomized, prospective and parallel double-blind study of three doses of propinox versus placebo in acute biliary colic pain.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and tolerance of propinox administered i.v., and establish a dose-response relation according to three dose levels (10, 20 and 30 mg), vs. placebo in patients with moderate to severe acute biliary pain. Three hundred and fifty patients were included: 85 received placebo treatment, 81 were treated with propinox 10 mg, 91 with propinox 20 mg and 93 received propinox 30 mg. Spontaneous pain intensity was assessed according to a visual analog and a verbal scale before treatment and 20, 60 and 120 min after. All treatments induced significant and progressive pain reduction at all controls, but patients treated with 20 and 30 mg of propinox showed significantly lower pain intensity after 120 min compared to the placebo group. The last control revealed that 28% of patients receiving placebo had no pain while 60% of patients treated with propinox 30 mg reported absence of pain with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). All treatments were very well tolerated and there were no dropouts due to adverse events. Mouth dryness was the adverse effect occurring with a significantly higher frequency than that observed with placebo although it was only seen in patients treated with 20 mg and 30 mg active doses. The results of this study showed that propinox was an effective drug in the treatment of moderate to severe colic pain of biliary origin. Concerning efficacy and side effects, a clear dose-response relation was observed; the 20 mg and 30 mg doses being significantly superior to placebo.