Gastrointestinal Blood Loss Study with a New Analgesic Compound: Nefopam Hydrochloride

Abstract

A new analgesic compound, nefopam HCl, was studied for possible gastrointestinal blood loss liabilities by 51Cr red cell tagging, and compared with aspirin''s usual therapeutic doses of 1.8 g/day. Dosage of nefopam HCl was 180 mg/day (2 tablets 3 times/day). Twenty healthy male volunteers had fecal blood loss determined after 1 wk crossover periods of drug investigation, each preceded by 1 wk no-drug control periods. A significant (P < 0.01) increase in occult bleeding occurred in the aspirin treated subjects from a mean of 0.5-1.63 ml/24 h, the mean increase for the group being 1.13 ml/24 h. Nefopam HCl treated subjects had an insignificant change from a control mean of 0.55 ml/24 h to 0.60 ml/24 h; a 3rd of this group actually had decrease in measurable blood loss. Reported side effects were minimal in both drug groups.