The combination of non-selective NSAID 400 mg and paracetamol 1000 mg is more effective than each drug alone for treatment of acute pain. A systematic review.

The aim was to evaluate the evidence on outcomes of the combination of non-selective NSAID/ paracetamol compared to either drug alone, to relieve acute pain following oral surgery in adult patients. A systematic review of available literature was performed. The first step comprised searches in three electronic databases. Original studies written in English were searched. As a second step, the reference lists of included publications were searched for additional publications. Abstracts were retrieved if the title contained information on postoperative pain, NSAID, and paracetamol in combination with oral surgery. Two reviewers selected publications on the basis of predetermined inclusion criteria. Data were extracted using one protocol and the quality of each study was assessed using another protocol. The initial search in PubMed resulted in 138 abstracts and in the Cochrane library a further four. The search in the Web of Science resulted in no additional abstract. Five RCTs fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Pain relief from the combination of non-selective NSAID with paracetamol was significantly better than with paracetamol alone as well as with NSAID alone. Nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness were among the most common adverse events in all treatment groups. Most of the adverse events were of mild to moderate severity. Two studies reported no significant differences in adverse events between the treatment groups. According to one study the adverse events were significantly lower for the combination ibuprofen 400 mg/paracetamol 1000 mg compared to ibuprofen 400 mg alone. The need for rescue drugs in the different groups varied between the studies. Since the studies reported a significantly better postoperative pain relief with the combination of non-selective NSAIDs/paracetamol compared to each drug alone, this combination might be considered the treatment of choice, as long as side effects of NSAIDs are observed.