A double-blind comparison of parenteral morphine, placebo, and oral fenoprofen in management of postoperative pain. Analgesic effect of fendosal, ibuprofen and aspirin in postoperative oral surgery pain. Dose-response of flurbiprofen on postoperative pain and emesis after paediatric strabismus surgery. An evaluation of flurbiprofen, aspirin, and placebo in postoperative oral surgery pain. [Acute pain management in proximal femoral fractures: femoral nerve block (catheter technique) vs. systemic pain therapy using a clinic internal organisation model]. Ibuprofen liquigel for oral surgery pain. A double-blind, randomized study of naproxen sodium, ibuprofen, and placebo in postoperative dental pain. Analgesic efficacy of celecoxib in postoperative oral surgery pain: a single-dose, two-center, randomized, double-blind, active- and placebo-controlled study. Analgesic efficacy of bromfenac, ibuprofen, and aspirin in postoperative oral surgery pain.
A double-blind study comparing parenteral morphine, 8 mg, with parenteral placebo and with oral fenoprofen, 200 mg, for the relief of postoperative pain following outpatient surgery was undertaken in 90 patients. The study drugs were administered within 2 hours of the operation and the Visual Analogue Scale was used to assess pain intensity. Patients given placebos showed minimal change in mean pain intensity, whereas patients who received morphine had significantly less pain at all assessment periods. Pain relief in patients who received fenoprofen was, for the first 2 hours, better than following placebo but not as good as following morphine, but thereafter, there was no significant difference between the morphine and fenoprofen and both were significantly better than placebo. It is concluded that oral analgesics may be a useful alternative to the traditional parenteral analgesics for outpatient surgery. The analgesic efficacy of a single 200-mg dose of fendosal, a nonnarcotic, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory analgesic, was compared, in a double-blind study, with aspirin 650 mg, ibuprofen 400 mg and placebo in outpatients who had moderate or severe pain after the surgical removal of impacted third molars. Using a self-rating record, patients rated their pain and its relief hourly for up to 12 hours after medicating. Each active medication was significantly superior to placebo. The peak analgesic effect of fendosal 200 mg was similar to that of the aspirin 650-mg standard. Although fendosal's onset of action was slow (3 hours), its effect persisted for 8 hours, substantially longer than that of aspirin. Ibuprofen 400 mg was statistically significantly superior to aspirin 650 mg and fendosal 200 mg for most measures of peak and total analgesia, and its effect persisted for 8 hours. The results of this study raise some questions concerning the comparability of data from studies that employ different criteria for remedication and/or different criteria for the inclusion of data in the analyses of efficacy. Intravenous flurbiprofen, a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), has been used recently for postoperative pain relief in adults. The drug is also likely to have antiemetic property. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of flurbiprofen on postoperative pain and emesis in children undergoing strabismus surgery, which is well known to produce postoperative nausea and vomiting.
                In a prospective, randomised, controlled clinical trial, 90 children aged 2-11 yr received saline (control), flurbiprofen 0.5 mg.kg-1, or flurbiprofen 1 mg.kg-1. Saline and flurbiprofen were administered i.v. immediately after induction of anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with sevoflurane and nitrous oxide in oxygen. Postoperative pain was assessed by a blinded observer using an objective pain scale (OPS). No opioids or antiemetics were administered throughout the study. The incidence and frequency of vomiting were compared among groups.
                Flurbiprofen 1 mg.kg-1 provided lower OPS (highest) scores during the eight hours after surgery and a reduced requirement for postoperative supplementary analgesic (diclofenac suppository) compared with the other two regimens. The two doses of flurbiprofen failed to decrease the incidence and frequency of vomiting.
                These data suggest that preoperative flurbiprofen 1 mg.kg-1 iv is a simple and effective approach to postoperative pain relief but not to the prevention of emesis following paediatric strabismus surgery. One hundred sixty-four outpatients with postoperative pain after the removal of impacted third molars were randomly assigned on a double-blind basis, to receive oral doses of flurbiprofen 25, 50, or 100 mg; aspirin 600 mg; or placebo. Using a self-rating record, subjects rated their pain and its relief hourly for 8 hours after medicating. Estimates of sum of pain differences (SPID), peak pain intensity difference (PID), total relief, peak relief, and hours of 50% relief were derived from these subjective reports. All active medications were significantly superior to placebo. Analgesia was similar for flurbiprofen 25 mg and aspirin 600 mg. Flurbiprofen 50 and 100 mg were significantly superior to aspirin for every measure of analgesia except peak PID. There was a significant dose-response regression between flurbiprofen 25 mg and both of the higher dosages. Flurbiprofen 50 and 100 mg did not differ significantly, suggesting a plateau in flurbiprofen's analgesia. The analgesic effect of flurbiprofen was significant by hour 1 and persisted for 8 hours. The frequency of adverse effects was similar for the active medications. The aim of this study was to compare safety and efficacy of catheter-mediated femoral nerve block analgesia with systemic pain therapy in patients with proximal femoral fractures in the pre-operative and post-operative setting using a protocol for coordinating pain management.
                In a prospective randomised trial of patients attending the emergency department, 100 individuals were selected with a clinically diagnosed proximal femoral fracture. Patients were divided into two equal groups A and B. Group A (n=50) received a catheter-mediated femoral nerve block with 1% prilocaine (40 ml) and post-operatively 0.2% ropivacaine (30 ml) 6 hourly. Group B (n=50) initially received intravenous metamizol (1 g) and a fixed combination of oral tilidine (100 mg) + naloxone (8 mg). Patients aged 90 years or more received a reduced dose (tilidine 75 mg + naloxone 6 mg). In the post-operative period regular oral ibuprofen (400 mg, 8 hourly) in addition to oral tilidine (50 mg) + naloxone (4 mg) was given as required for break through pain. Pain intensity was measured using a verbal rating scale (VRS) from 1 to 5: pain free (=1), mild pain (=2), moderate pain (=3), severe pain (=4), excruciating pain (=5). Pain scores were recorded at rest (R), during passive anteflection (30 degrees) of the hip (PA) on arrival and at 15 and 30 min after initial administration of analgesia. Thereafter, recordings were made 4 times a day up to the third post-operative day.
                Pain scores were comparable for both groups on admission (VRS in R 2.50 vs. 2.46; VRS during PA 4.30 vs. 4.34). Significant pain relief was achieved in both groups following initial administration of analgesia, but the total pain scores in group A were significantly lower than in group B (VRS in R 1.22 vs. 1.58, p<0.01 and VRS during PA 2.66 vs. 3.26; p<0.001). No difference was noted between the two groups during the first 3 post-operative days. No severe complications occurred as a result of analgesia, however, the catheter was dislodged in 20% of patients in group A resulting in the need for systemically administered analgesia.
                All patients presenting with proximal femoral fractures should receive adequate analgesia within the emergency department even prior to radiographic imaging. Femoral nerve block should be considered as the method of choice. The insertion of a femoral nerve block catheter has the dual advantage of early analgesia permitting repeated clinical examination in addition to continued post-operative pain management. The cumbersome logistics inherent in this technique within the clinical setting limits its practical application. An initial single-shot regional nerve block followed by a systemic post-operative analgesia protocol was considered an appropriate alternative. The execution of safe, consistent and appropriate regional nerve block anaesthesia is reliant on formal guidelines and protocols as agreed by the multidisciplinary teams involved with patient-directed pain management and good clinical practice. Ibuprofen liquigel is a solubilized potassium ibuprofen 200-mg gelatin capsule formulation that was approved for over-the-counter use in 1995.
                This study compared the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of ibuprofen liquigel 200 mg, ibuprofen liquigel 400 mg, acetaminophen caplets 1000 mg, and placebo in patients experiencing moderate or severe pain after surgical removal of impacted third molars.
                This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, 6-hour study was conducted in 210 patients experiencing moderate or severe postoperative pain. Ratings of pain intensity and pain relief were recorded every 15 minutes for the first hour, at 90 and 120 minutes, and then hourly through hour 6. The onsets of first perceptible relief and meaningful relief were recorded using 2 stopwatches. An analysis of variance model was employed to test for significant differences (P < or = 0.05) between treatment groups with respect to pain relief, pain intensity difference, total pain relief (TOTPAR), and summed pain intensity difference (SPID). Stopwatch measures were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Drug tolerability was assessed by monitoring the occurrence of adverse events.
                During the first 2 hours of the study (TOTPAR 2 and SPID 2), all active treatments were significantly more efficacious than placebo (P < 0.001), with ibuprofen liquigel 200 and 400 mg significantly more efficacious than acetaminophen 1000 mg (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). For the entire duration of the study (TOTPAR 6 and SPID 6), only the 2 doses of ibuprofen liquigel were significantly more efficacious than placebo (P < 0.001). Ibuprofen liquigel 200 and 400 mg were also significantly more efficacious than acetaminophen 1000 mg on the summary measures TOTPAR 6 and SPID 6 (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). Analysis of the stopwatch data revealed that all active treatments displayed significantly more rapid onsets to confirmed first perceptible relief (P < 0.001 to < 0.05) and meaningful relief (P < 0.001 to < 0.01) than did placebo, with ibuprofen liquigel 400 mg displaying a significantly more rapid onset to meaningful relief than acetaminophen 1000 mg (P < 0.05) and a significantly more rapid onset to confirmed first perceptible relief than acetaminophen 1000 mg (P < 0.001) and ibuprofen liquigel 200 mg (P < 0.01). All adverse events were considered mild or moderate, with an overall incidence of 11.5% in the ibuprofen liquigel 200-mg group, 6.8% in the ibuprofen liquigel 400-mg group, 19.0% in the acetaminophen 1000-mg group, and 25.9% in the placebo group.
                Ibuprofen liquigel provided greater peak and overall analgesic effects and a more rapid onset to analgesia than did acetaminophen 1000 mg. In a double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled study, 203 patients with post-operative dental pain following the extraction of one or two bony impacted third molars were randomized to receive a single dose of naproxen sodium 220 mg, ibuprofen 200 mg or placebo. Pain intensity and pain relief were assessed at intervals for 12 hours postdose. Both active drugs demonstrated superior analgesic efficacy over placebo. Naproxen sodium and ibuprofen were comparable both in onset of analgesic action and in pain relief. From 1 to 12 hours postdose, naproxen sodium showed a trend for superior analgesic efficacy compared with ibuprofen; this trend reached statistical significance at the 12-hour time point. Both drugs were well-tolerated and effective analgesics for postoperative dental pain. Celecoxib 200 mg has been reported to reduce pain following dental extraction but to offer poorer pain relief than active comparators.
                The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of celecoxib 400 mg, the recommended loading dose for treatment of acute pain, with that of ibuprofen 400 mg and placebo following oral surgery.
                This was a single-dose, 2-center, randomized, double-blind, active- and placebo-controlled study in which patients with moderate to severe pain following third molar extraction were randomized to receive a single dose of celecoxib 400 mg, ibuprofen 400 mg, or placebo. Pain assessments were completed using a 4-point pain intensity scale where 0=no pain and 3=severe pain and a 5-point pain relief scale where 0=no pain relief and 4= complete pain relief at baseline and 18 time points over 24 hours. Primary efficacy outcome measures were time to onset of analgesia (the median time to perceptible pain relief in those patients who achieved meaningful pain relief), time-specific pain intensity difference (PID), time-specific pain relief (PR), time-specific sum of PID and PR, and time to use of rescue medication. Times to perceptible and meaningful pain relief (secondary efficacy outcome measures) were recorded using 2 stopwatches. Tolerability was assessed through recording of adverse events, clinical laboratory tests, and physical examinations (including collection of vital signs).
                One hundred seventy-one patients were randomized to celecoxib 400 mg (30 women and 27 men; mean [SD] age, 21.4 [4.2] years); ibuprofen 400 mg (30 women and 27 men; mean [SD] age, 22.0 [4.7] years); or placebo (34 women and 23 men; mean [SD] age, 21.6 [5.0] years). Mean times to onset of analgesia with celecoxib 400 mg and ibuprofen 400 mg were rapid and comparable (median 28 minutes and 26 minutes, respectively) and were significantly shorter than with placebo (>24 hours) (both, P<0.05 vs placebo). Compared with placebo, mean time-specific PID scores were significantly greater with celecoxib from 0.5 to 24 hours and with ibuprofen from 0.5 to 16 hours (all, P<0.05 vs placebo). Time-specific PR scores with celecoxib and ibuprofen were significantly greater from 0.75 and 0.5 hour, respectively, compared with placebo (all, P<0.05 vs placebo). PID was significantly greater with celecoxib compared with ibuprofen beginning at 11 hours (all, P<0.05). PR scores were significantly higher with celecoxib versus ibuprofen beginning at 9 hours (all, P<0.05). Median (95% CI) time to use of rescue medication with celecoxib (>24 hours) was significantly longer than with ibuprofen (10 hours, 58 minutes [8 hours, 30 minutes- 14 hours, 34 minutes]) or placebo (1 hour, 51 minutes [1 hour, 40 minutes-2 hours, 22 minutes]) (both, P<0.05). The 3 most common adverse events experienced in the celecoxib group were headache (9 [15.8%] patients), nausea (9 [15.8%] patients), and dizziness (6 [10.5%] patients).
                In this postsurgical dental pain study, the onset and magnitude of pain relief with celecoxib 400 mg and ibuprofen 400 mg were found to be comparable. In addition, patients who received celecoxib 400 mg as a single dose had a significantly longer time to use of rescue medication and had higher pain relief scores later in the study than those who received ibuprofen 400 mg. Celecoxib was well tolerated compared with placebo. We recently demonstrated that 25 mg of bromfenac, a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic, is at least as effective as 400 mg of ibuprofen in relieving postoperative oral surgery pain. Our objective in this study was to determine whether higher doses were significantly more effective. Two hundred eighty (280) outpatients with postoperative pain after the surgical removal of impacted third molars were randomly assigned, on a double-blind basis, a single oral dose of 10, 25, 50, or 100 mg bromfenac; 650 mg aspirin; 400 mg ibuprofen; or placebo. Subjects rated their pain and its relief for 8 hours. All active treatments were significantly superior to placebo, and bromfenac and ibuprofen were significantly superior to aspirin. The slope of the dose-response curve of bromfenac was significant. The 100 mg bromfenac dose was significantly more effective than the 400 mg ibuprofen dose and had a significantly longer duration of analgesic action.
Oral fenoprofen 200 mg is effective at treating moderate to severe acute postoperative pain, based on limited data for at least 50% pain relief over 4 to 6 hours. Efficacy of other doses, other efficacy outcomes, and safety and tolerability could not be assessed.