Table 2.
The diclofenac concentration in each tissue
| Group | Patient | Fat | Muscle | Synovial membrane | Plasma | Synovial fluid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topical application | 1 | 4.757 | <LOQ | 3.15 | 6.209 | 2.994 |
| 2 | 2.45 | 10.776 | 6.626 | 3.566 | 1.718 | |
| 3 | 20.47 | <LOQ | <LOQ | 3.364 | 1.8 | |
| 4 | 6.03 | 8.911 | 6.844 | 5.133 | 2.851 | |
| 5 | 6.953 | 6.632 | 2.886 | 1.783 | 1.325 | |
| 6 | 32.655 | 23.359 | 11.899 | 7.608 | 1.524 | |
| 7 | 20.894 | 15.381 | 3.535 | 5.252 | 1.504 | |
| Mean | 13.46 | 9.29 | 4.99 | 4.70 | 1.96 | |
| SD | 11.31 | 8.34 | 3.84 | 1.95 | 0.68 | |
| 5% CI | 3.35 | 1.84 | 1.55 | 2.96 | 1.35 | |
| 95% CI | 16.81 | 11.14 | 6.55 | 7.66 | 3.31 | |
| Oral application | 8 | 4.236 | <LOQ | 6.695 | 4.242 | 8.301 |
| 9 | 2.946 | <LOQ | 11.242 | 5.069 | 15.747 | |
| 10 | 6.494 | 3.167 | 16.166 | 5.255 | 7.858 | |
| 11 | 1.857 | <LOQ | 12.413 | 3.415 | 17.233 | |
| 12 | <LOQ | <LOQ | 4.787 | 2.37 | 2.655 | |
| 13 | 5.907 | <LOQ | 24.232 | 11.728 | 32.485 | |
| 14 | 5.276 | <LOQ | 29.965 | 14.335 | 33.064 | |
| Mean | 3.85 | 0.66 | 15.07 | 6.63 | 16.76 | |
| SD | 2.28 | 1.11 | 9.17 | 4.54 | 12 | |
| 5% CI | 1.72 | −0.62 | 6.87 | 2.57 | 6.04 | |
| 95% CI | 5.54 | −0.17 | 21.95 | 9.20 | 22.80 | |
| Comparisons between the two groups | P-value | 0.0476 | 0.0196 | 0.0181 | 0.6547 | 0.004 |
The quantification limit (<LOQ) value was 0.24 ng g−1 for fat, muscle and synovial tissue, and 0.4 ng ml−1 for synovial fluid and blood plasma. For samples in which the diclofenac level was below the <LOQ, zero was used to calculate the mean and the standard deviation (SD).