piroxicam piroxicam piroxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (nsaid) of the oxicam class used to relieve the symptoms of painful inflammatory conditions like arthritis. piroxicam works by preventing the production of endogenous prostaglandins which are involved in the mediation of pain, stiffness, tenderness and swelling. the medicine is available as capsules, tablets and (not in all countries) as a prescription-free gel 0.5%. it is also available in a betadex formulation, which allows a more rapid absorption of piroxicam from the digestive tract. piroxicam is one of the few nsaids that can be given parenteral routes. piroxicamclinical datapronunciation/paɪˈrɒksɪˌkæm/ trade namesfeldene, othersother namespiroksikam, piroxikamahfs/drugs.commonographmedlineplusa684045pregnancycategory au: c routes ofadministrationby mouthatc codem01ac01 (who) m02aa07 (who), s01bc06 (who)legal statuslegal status au: s4 (prescription only) ca: ℞-only uk: pom (prescription only) us: ℞-only eu: rx-only pharmacokinetic dataprotein binding99%metabolismliver-mediated hydroxylation and glucuronidationelimination half-life50 hoursexcretionurine, faecesidentifiers iupac name 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-n-(2-pyridinyl)-2h-1,2-benzothiazine-3-carboxamide 1,1-dioxide cas number36322-90-4 ypubchem cid54676228iuphar/bps7273drugbankdb00554 ychemspider10442653 yunii13t4o6vmamkeggd00127 ychebichebi:8249 ychemblchembl527 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid5021170 echa infocard100.048.144 chemical and physical dataformulac15h13n3o4smolar mass331.35 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles oc=2c1ccccc1s(=o)(=o)n(c)c=2c(=o)nc3ccccn3 inchi inchi=1s/c15h13n3o4s/c1-18-13(15(20)17-12-8-4-5-9-16-12)14(19)10-6-2-3-7-11(10)23(18,21)22/h2-9,19h,1h3,(h,16,17,20) ykey:qysplqlakjaujt-uhfffaoysa-n y (verify) it was patented in 1968 by pfizer and approved for medical use in 1979. it became generic in 1992, and is marketed worldwide under many brandnames. medical uses it is used in the treatment of certain inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, primary dysmenorrhoea, postoperative pain; and act as an analgesic, especially where there is an inflammatory component. the european medicines agency issued a review of its use in 2007 and recommended that its use be limited to the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions, as it is only in these circumstances that its risk-benefit ratio proves to be favourable. adverse effects