THE EFFICACY OF AMITRIPTYLINE AND ACETAMINOPHEN IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE LOW-BACK-PAIN

Thirty-nine patients with acute low back pain were treated with amitri ptyline (150 mg/d) or acetaminophen (2,000 mg/d) in a controlled doubl e-blind design for 5 weeks. Both groups revealed mild depression, norm al coping, and increased anxiety at the beginning, with significant im provement in anxiety state and pain at the end of treatment. A repeate d measures analysis of variance demonstrated that amitriptyline was mo re effective than acetaminophen in reducing pain intensity from the se cond week of treatment. Age and depression were the only significant p retreatment predictors of posttreatment pain. The study evaluates the significance of these findings.