EVALUATION OF KETOROLAC, IBUPROFEN-PARACETAMOL, AND DEXTROPROPOXYPHENE-PARACETAMOL IN POSTOPERATIVE PAIN

Study Objective. To compare the analgesic efficacy of ketorolac, ibupr ofen-paracetamol (acetaminophen), and dextropropoxyphene-paracetamol i n postoperative pain. Design. Randomized, double-blind, parallel, sing le-dose study. Setting. Multicenter, with five centers participating. Patients. One hundred sixty patients with moderate to severe postopera tive pain requiring oral analgesics were enrolled. Seventeen patients were excluded from final analysis due to deviation from protocol. Inte rventions. Ketorolac tromethamine 10 mg, a combination of ibuprofen 40 0 mg plus paracetamol 325 mg, or a combination of dextropropoxyphene 6 5 mg plus paracetamol 400 mg was given orally to patients with moderat e to severe baseline pain. Measurements and Main Results. Pain intensi ty and pain relief scores were rated at baseline, at 30 minutes, and h ourly to 6 hours. Until the end of first hour, analgesia was similar f or all three regimens. Ketorolac had a significantly higher analgesic effect than the two combinations between hours 2 and 6. Analgesia was similar for the two combinations. For all three test drugs the frequen cy of adverse effects was similar. Conclusions. Ketorolac 10 mg is a s uperior analgesic to ibuprofen-paracetamol or dextropropoxyphene-parac etamol in the treatment of postoperative pain.