• Andrew K Chang, Polly E Bijur, Jason B Lupow, and E John Gallagher.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA.
• Pain Med. 2015 Dec 1; 16 (12): 2397-404.

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that oxycodone/acetaminophen provides analgesia superior to codeine/acetaminophen following emergency department (ED) discharge.DesignProspective, randomized, double-blind, trial.SettingAdult inner city ED.SubjectsED patients with acute extremity pain who were discharged home.MethodsPatients randomized to oxycodone/acetaminophen (5 mg/325 mg) or codeine/acetaminophen (30 mg/300 mg). The primary outcome, obtained via telephone one day after ED discharge, was the between-group difference in improvement in numerical rating scale (NRS) pain scores over a 2-hour period following the most recent ingestion of study drug. Secondary outcomes included proportion of patients with >50% pain reduction, side-effect profile, and patient satisfaction.ResultsTwo hundred and forty patients were enrolled. Mean baseline NRS scores were 7.9 in both groups. Mean decrease over 2 hours was 4.5 NRS units in the oxycodone/acetaminophen group vs 4.2 NRS units in the codeine/acetaminophen group, for a clinically and statistically nonsignificant difference of 0.2 NRS units (95% CI -0.4-0.9 NRS units). Similarly, 66% vs 61% achieved >50% pain relief for a nonsignificant difference of 5% (95% CI -8% to 17%). Side-effect profile and patient satisfaction were similar.ConclusionOur hypothesis that oxycodone/acetaminophen provides analgesia superior to codeine/acetaminophen was rejected. Although pain within each group was reduced by more than half, the between-group difference was not significant. Pending independent validation, these unexpected findings suggest that codeine/acetaminophen, a Schedule III agent, may be a clinically reasonable outpatient opioid alternative to oxycodone/acetaminophen, a more tightly restricted Schedule II agent thought to be more prone to misuse.Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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