THE COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF ACECLOFENAC AND IBUPROFEN IN POSTOPERATIVE PAIN AFTER 3RD MOLAR SURGERY

The aim of the present placebo-controlled, double-blind study was to e valuate the comparative efficacy of single doses of aceclofenac 150 mg and ibuprofen 400 mg in 217 patients with postoperative pain after th ird molar surgery. Outcome of primary efficacy was judged by overall a ssessment of the area under the curve (AUC) of graphs for pain intensi ty (AUC pain) pain relief (AUC relief), both measured from serial visu al analogue scales over a 6 h investigation period. Other measures of efficacy included the rate of pain reduction in the first hour, the nu mber of patients who took 'escape' analgesics and the time before they did, and an overall assessment of pain relief score on a five-point c ategorical scale. Ibuprofen 400 mg was significantly superior to place bo for pain relief (P < 0.01), degree of pain reduction in the first h our (P = 0.005), and the number of patients who required escape analge sia (P < 0.001), and the time before they did (P < 0.001). The outcome for patients treated with aceclofenac 150 mg was not significantly di fferent from that of patients treated with placebo (P > 0.05). A singl e dose of ibuprofen 400 mg provided significant pain relief in the ear ly postoperative period after third molar surgery, whereas a single do se of aceclofenac 150 mg was not effective in the management of postop erative pain after this operation.