A study of the comparative efficacy of four common analgesics in the control of postsurgical dental pain.
Four common oral analgesics were tested in a single-blind trial to determine their relative efficacy in the management of postsurgical pain in 103 patients who had their impacted third molars surgically removed under general anesthesia. The analgesics tested were acetylsalicylic acid (26 patients), ibuprofen (26 patients), a paracetamol/codeine/caffeine combination (Solpadeine) (25 patients), and dihydrocodeine (26 patients). The paracetamol/codeine/caffeine combination, ibuprofen, and acetylsalicylic acid preparations produced equally effective analgesia. Dihydrocodeine was found to be a poor analgesic in this pain model. There were no adverse reactions to any of the preparations.
Habib
S
S
Bristol Dental Hospital and School, England.
Matthews
R W
RW
Scully
C
C
Levers
B G
BG
Shepherd
J P
JP
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002110:Caffeine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003061:Codeine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007052:Ibuprofen / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011897:Random Allocation; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000601:surgery
D000700:Analgesics; D004338:Drug Combinations; D000082:Acetaminophen; D002110:Caffeine; C034242:solpadeine; C014481:dihydrocodeine; D001241:Aspirin; D003061:Codeine; D007052:Ibuprofen