Curr Ther Res Clin E
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Curr Ther Res Clin E · Sep 2004
Comparison of the effects of parecoxib and diclofenac in preemptive analgesia: A prospective, randomized, assessor-blind, single-dose, parallel-group study in patients undergoing elective general surgery.
Preoperative administration of analgesics may prevent or reducehyperalgesia, inhibit inflammation, and reduce pain by reducing the synthesis of prostaglandins in response to tissue damage caused by surgery. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a potent, widely used class of analgesic agents; however, they may not be as effective as selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors. ⋯ In this study of patients undergoing elective general surgery,patients treated with the COX-2 specific inhibitor parecoxib experienced no pain at 12 hours, and the treatment was well tolerated. The results of this study suggest that good postoperative analgesia and minimal interference with platelet function may make parecoxib an alternative to the nonselective NSAID diclofenac in providing preemptive analgesia in patients undergoing general surgery.