Ibuprofen provides similar pain relief but reduces adverse effects and improves function compared with acetaminophen plus codeine in children with uncomplicated fractures
- Carie A Braun
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University, 37 College Avenue South, Saint Joseph, MN 56374, USA; cbraun{at}csbsju.edu
Drendel and colleagues compared ibuprofen and acetaminophen with codeine as methods of relief for acute arm fracture pain in children aged 4–18 years. Although a few studies cited in the article have compared ibuprofen with acetaminophen-codeine, none to date have explored these two methods as treatment for uncomplicated fractures in children. The importance of this study rests in the high prevalence of injuries in children and the need for effective pain management in children as a result of these injuries.1
Using a convenience sample of 224 children at a level 1 trauma centre, the research team randomised treatment to either ibuprofen or acetaminophen-codeine for uncomplicated fractures in this clinical trial. …
