More and more medical facilities across the country are using Caldolor injections to treat patients, according to an accouncement by the drug manufacturer Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Among the hospitals that have added the formulation are the Orlando Regional Medical Center, St. Elizabeth Healthcare in the Greater Cincinnati region, and the Joseph M. Still Burn Centers. The formulation is designed primarily for use in the hospital setting and is the first injectable product approved for use in the United States for the treatment of pain and fever. Caldolor consists of ibuprofen. It was launched in September 2009.

A press release quotes Dr. John T. Promes, director of Trauma Services and associate director for Surgical Education at Orlando Regional Medical Center, as saying the following on Caldolor’s use:

“Since the introduction of Caldolor at ORMC I have had the opportunity to use the product in a variety of patients, but most notably in my trauma patients,” Promes said. “Severe pain is difficult to treat, especially in patients with complex issues such as numerous fractures, impaired breathing from a collapsed lung and any number of other issues. Adding Caldolor to my practice has enabled me to decrease reliance on opioids and make patients more comfortable more quickly than with opioids alone. Getting patients moving around sooner can lead to faster recovery and decreased potential need for transfer to the intensive care unit. While opioids alone generally mask pain, adding Caldolor represents a new and multi-faceted approach to pain management, allowing me to treat pain at the source.”

Clinical trials have demonstrated that Caldolor as an adjunct therapy provides pain relief above and beyond narcotics alone and also reduces narcotic use.

A newly published study titled "A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Intravenous-Ibuprofen (IV-Ibuprofen) for Treatment of Pain in Post-Operative Orthopedic Adult Patient,” demonstrates that dosing Caldolor at induction of analgesia and post-operatively results in the effective treatment of pain and reduces morphine use in adult patients. The study appeared in the August 2010 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Pain Medicine and concludes that IV ibuprofen significantly decreased pain with movement by 26% and decreased morphine use by 31% when compared with placebo. However, more patients receiving IV ibuprofen experienced vomiting and more patients receiving placebo experienced dyspepsia.

Caldolor offers IV delivery of ibuprofen to control pain while allowing physicians to limit opioid use. The reduction in opioid use helps reduce opioid-related side effects such as sedation, nausea, vomiting, cognitive impairment and respiratory depression.