Flurbiprofen alone and in combination with alfuzosin for the management of lower urinary tract symptoms.
BACKGROUND
We aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of flurbiprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with dual cyclooxygenase inhibition, and α-blocker alfuzosin, both alone and in combination with each other for lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic obstruction (LUTS/BPO).


METHODS
Ninety patients complaining of moderate-to-severe LUTS/BPO were randomly assigned into 3 groups (30 patients each) to receive alfuzosin XL 10 mg, or flurbiprofen SR 200 mg, or combination of alfuzosin XL 10 mg and flurbiprofen SR 200 mg, once daily for 4 weeks. Patients were evaluated using the international prostate symptom score (IPSS) (total and IPSSstorage, IPSSempty subscores), uroflow-metry (maximum (Qmax) and average (Qave) flow rates) and postvoid residual urine (PVR) both at baseline and following the drug therapy course.


RESULTS
There was no difference among the 3 groups regarding age and baseline values of prostate volume, IPSS, IPSSstorage, IPSSempty, Qmax, Qave and PVR (P >0.05). IPSS, IPSSstorage, IPSSempty, and PVR decreased significantly in all the 3 groups after drug therapies (P <0.01). However, Qmax and Qave significantly improved only in the combination group (P <0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Addition of flurbiprofen increased the therapeutic effectiveness of alfuzosin by further improving symptoms in patients with LUTS/BPO. Combination therapy also improved urine flow compared to baseline. Monotherapy with flurbiprofen was not superior to alfuzosin.
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Cevdet Serkan
CS
Gokkaya
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Binhan Kagan
BK
Aktas
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Cuneyt
C
Ozden
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Suleyman
S
Bulut
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Mehmet
M
Karabakan
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Akif Ersoy
AE
Erkmen
Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Ankara, Turkey.
Ali
A
Memis
flurbiprofen sodium; lower urinary tract symptoms; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents; prostate