Review: single dose, oral paracetamol reduces moderate to severe postoperative pain
Q Is single dose paracetamol (acetaminophen) efficacious and safe for acute postoperative pain?
METHODS
Data sources:
Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2002), Specialised Register of the Cochrane Pain, Palliative, and Supportive Care group (November 2002), Medline (1966 to May 1996), PubMed (1996 to November 2002), EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (1980–96), Oxford Pain Relief database (1950–94), and reference lists of retrieved articles.
Study selection and assessment:
published, double blind, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared single dose, oral, immediate release paracetamol with placebo for moderate to severe postoperative pain (>30 mm on visual analogue scale [VAS]) in adults and allocated ⩾10 patients to each treatment group. Exclusion criteria: postpartum trials of pain from uterine cramps alone; pain relief assessed by clinicians, nurses, or carers (rather than patient report); trials <4 hours …
