Single-dose vicoprofen compared with acetaminophen with codeine and placebo in patients with acute postoperative pain after third molar extractions.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this double-blind, randomized study was to compare the efficacy and safety of a single dose of the following medications: 2 tablets of Vicoprofen (ibuprofen 200 mg/hydrocodone 7.5 mg; Knoll Pharmaceutical Co, Mount Olive, NJ), 2 tablets ofp6 acetaminophen with codeine phosphate (acetaminophen 300 mg/codeine 30 mg), and 2 tablets of placebo in the management of moderate to severe postoperative dental pain after surgical extraction of at least one impacted mandibular third molar.


METHODS
One hundred twenty-five patients (75 women, 50 men) participated in the study. The time of first perceptible pain relief and meaningful pain relief were measured using a stopwatch technique. Pain intensity and pain relief scores were recorded using standard verbal descriptors at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 hours after dosing. At the conclusion of the study, patients completed a global evaluation for the effectiveness of the study medication.


RESULTS
Both active treatments were superior to placebo for all analgesic measures. Pain relief scores were significantly better for Vicoprofen than placebo throughout the study and significantly better than for acetaminophen with codeine from 2 through 8 hours after dosing. The duration of analgesia (time to remedication) was significantly longer for Vicoprofen (median, 5.50 hours) compared with acetaminophen with codeine (median, 3.03 hours) and placebo (median, 1.00 hours). Mean global evaluation for Vicoprofen was significantly better than for placebo and acetaminophen with codeine. Overall, there were no significant differences in the adverse event profile among the 3 treatment groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Vicoprofen was found to be an effective postoperative analgesic medication in the management of acute postoperative dental pain. Its total analgesic effect, duration of analgesia, and global evaluation were superior to acetaminophen with codeine and placebo in this study model.
Ziccardi
V B
VB
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Newark 07103-2400, USA. ziccarvb@umdnj.ed
Desjardins
P J
PJ
Daly-DeJoy
E
E
Seng
G F
GF
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003061:Codeine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006853:Hydrocodone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007052:Ibuprofen / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000601:surgery
D000700:Analgesics; D004338:Drug Combinations; C409362:hydrocodone tartrate, ibuprofen drug combination; D000082:Acetaminophen; D006853:Hydrocodone; D003061:Codeine; D007052:Ibuprofen