Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Meloxicam in Subjects with Moderate-to-severe Pain Following Abdominoplasty

BACKGROUND: A nanocrystal intravenous (IV) formulation of meloxicam is being studied with the aim of providing postoperative analgesia. METHODS: This randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated meloxicam IV 30 mg or placebo (≤ 3 doses) in 219 subjects undergoing abdominoplasty. The primary endpoint was the summed pain intensity difference over 24 hours postdose (SPID(24)). RESULTS: Meloxicam IV–treated subjects had a statistically significant reduction in the least squares mean of SPID(24) compared with placebo-treated subjects (−4,262.1 versus −3,535.7; P = 0.0145). Meloxicam IV was associated with statistically significant differences over placebo on several other secondary endpoints, including other SPID intervals (ie, SPID(12), SPID(48), and SPID(24–48)), achievement of perceptible pain relief, the proportion of subjects with a ≥ 30% improvement in the first 24 hours, and Patient Global Assessment of pain at hour 48. Meloxicam IV was also associated with a reduction in the number of subjects receiving opioid rescue medication during hours 24–48 and the total number of doses of opioid rescue analgesia. Meloxicam IV was generally well tolerated, with the numbers and frequencies of adverse events similar to that of the placebo group. There was no evidence of an increased risk of adverse events commonly associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including bleeding, thrombotic, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, cardiovascular, injection site, and wound healing events. CONCLUSION: Meloxicam IV provided sustained pain relief and generally was well tolerated in subjects with moderate-to-severe pain following abdominoplasty.