In this study, the analgesic effects of dexketoprofen trometamol and meperidine hydrochloride were compared in patients diagnosed with renal colic. This study was a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Fifty-two patients, between the ages of 18 and 70 years who were diagnosed with renal colic, were enrolled in the study after obtaining ethics committee approval. Before drug injection, dexketoprofen trometamol and meperidine hydrochloride were placed in closed envelopes, and the patients were randomly given a single dose of intravenous infusion for 20 minutes. Severity of pain and symptoms was evaluated with the numerical rating scale and renal colic symptom score for each patient immediately before administration of drugs and 30 minutes after the end of the application. At the same time, systolic arterial blood pressure, diastolic arterial pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and reactions due to drug administration were recorded before and after drug administration. In statistical methods, t test, analysis of variance, and repeated measure analysis were used for the analysis of normally distributed continuous variables and the Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis and Friedman tests were used for analysis of not-normally distributed continuous variables. In the analysis of discrete variables, the χ2 test was used. In both groups, a significant decrease was found in numerical rating scale values measured 30 minutes after drug administration, but the decline in dexketoprofen trometamol group (P = 0.02) was found to be more. Although a significant decrease was found in the renal colic symptom score (P < 0.001) values measured after drug administration in the dexketoprofen trometamol group, no significant decrease was found in the meperidine HCl (P = 0.058) group. After drug administration, a statistically significant decrease was found in the systolic arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate in both groups. Also, a statistically significant decrease was found in the diastolic arterial pressure in the meperidine group. But these changes in vital findings were not serious enough to disrupt patients' clinical status. With this study, we concluded that dexketoprofen trometamol, from the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug group, can be within the primary treatment options for renal colic because of better analgesic efficacy, being well tolerated by patients compared with meperidine hydrochloride.
