Articles: analgesics.
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Of the four categories of oral analgesics, three have been available since the 19th century. Although adequate doses of the more potent oral opioids such as morphine and methadone are effective even in severe pain, the commonly used "weak" narcotics such as codeine and propoxyphene are no more effective than usual doses of aspirin or acetaminophen. Furthermore, the opioids produce gastrointestinal and central nervous system adverse effects, and, during long-term administration, tolerance may develop and there is a risk of drug dependence. ⋯ The fourth category of oral analgesics constitutes the most important recent development in pain management with analgesic drugs: the newer peripherally acting, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics, some of which are clearly more efficacious than aspirin or acetaminophen and compare favorably not only with full doses of narcotic combination products but even, in some cases, with strong injectable opioids. On repeated dosing, some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are better tolerated than aspirin and some have a much longer duration of analgesic effect than aspirin or acetaminophen. Further study is needed to compare nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs among themselves and to determine their value in chronic pain and in combination therapy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Analgesic effect of aspirin, mefenamic acid and their combination in post-operative oral surgery pain.
A double-blind randomized single dose study of the analgesic effects of 650 mg aspirin, 250 mg mefenamic acid, the combination of 650 mg aspirin and 250 mg mefenamic acid and placebo on 120 patients with pain following oral surgery was conducted. Patients evaluated their pain intensity and extent of pain relief at 1, 2, 3 and 4 h after drug administration. For most parameters, including the sum of the pain intensity differences and the sum of the hourly pain relief scores, each of the drugs was more effective than placebo. Aspirin-mefenamic acid in combination was more effective than both drugs alone, and aspirin and mefenamic acid alone were equally effective for most of the analgesic variables.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 1988
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialContinuous infusion epidural analgesia in labor: the effect of adding sufentanil to 0.125% bupivacaine.
The purpose of this study was to determine if the addition of sufentanil would improve the quality of analgesia obtained with 0.125% epidural bupivacaine infusions given to women in active labor. Forty healthy laboring women were randomly assigned to two equal groups. Group 1 had epidural analgesia instituted with the bolus injection of 10-15 ml 0.125% bupivacaine containing sufentanil 2 micrograms/ml, followed 30 minutes later by initiation of an epidural infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine containing sufentanil 1 microgram/ml at a rate of 10 ml/hr. ⋯ Analgesia assessed by visual analog pain scores was significantly better in group 1. Significantly fewer epidural injections were required in group 1, and less motor weakness occurred in these patients. The addition of sufentanil to epidural bupivacaine infusions given in labor improves analgesia and reduces "top-up" requirements.