Monday, April 12, 2010

PCM alone or PCM plus NSAID? Any additional benefit

There has been a trend over recent years for combining a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) with paracetamol (acetaminophen) for pain management. However, therapeutic superiority of the combination of paracetamol and an NSAID over either drug alone remains controversial.

A new systematic review has been published involving 20s RCTs and 1852 patients compared paracetamol/NSAID combinations with paracetamol alone.

In 16 studies (80%), an analgesic combination was more effective than acetaminophen alone for at least one of three measures of the following:
- pain score
- need for supplemental analgesia
- globally assessed pain relief).

The mean reduction in pain intensity was 35%, and the mean reduction in need for supplemental analgesics was 39%.

Click here for Journal Watch commentary.

1 comment:

Peter29 said...

It is true the combination of NSAID/Paracetamol is useful in management of pain.But one should not use the drug haphazardly due it's side effect.

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