Preemptive paracetamol for postoperative pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Preemptive paracetamol for postoperative pain: a randomised, double blind two way crossover trial
IRAS ID
179047
Contact name
John Williams
Contact email
Eudract number
2015-001562-26
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Paracetamol is used commonly to treat pain, including pain after surgery. However, it is not clear when the best time to give it is. Most doctors give this at the end of surgery. Although some studies have suggested paracetamol works better to reduce pain if given before the surgeon cuts the skin. We would like to investigate this with a study.
Summary of Results
Background:
Postoperative pain is a common consequence of surgery and is severe in one quarter of patients. Pre-emptive analgesia involves starting painkillers before surgery and has been proposed as a simple method to help reduce postoperative pain, which may be more effective in patients expected to have higher pain. Previous studies have demonstrated that pre-emptive paracetamol may be effective in reducing postoperative pain.Methods:
We conducted a trial of 47 patients undergoing surgery on the neck bones. The pre-emptive group received paracetamol before surgery and the control group received paracetamol at the end of surgery. We included 39 participants in the final analysis.Results:
We are uncertain about a reduction in painkillers after surgery due to variability in the results. There may be a reduction in pain at 12 hours after surgery. There was no difference in other outcomes.Conclusions:
In conclusion, we could not find any benefit for pre-emptive paracetamol although the variability in results means we cannot say for certain that it does not work.REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0231
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion