• A Joshi, A T Snowdon, J P Rood, and H V Worthington.
• Department of Dental Medicine & Surgery, University Dental Hospital of Manchester. Ameeta.Joshi@man.ac.uk
• Br Dent J. 2000 Oct 28;189(8):439-42.

ObjectiveAn audit study which examines patient's opinions on the efficiency of two analgesic regimes prescribed to them following dento-alveolar surgery in our Day Unit.DesignSingle centre prospective study.SettingOral Surgery Day Case UnitSubjectsOne-hundred-and-seventy-four adults undergoing routine dento-alveolar surgery under general anaesthetic were asked to assess their pain control (on a five point scale) 1 hour after surgery, at discharge from hospital and at 24 and 48 hours post-operatively. Post-operatively, patients received ibuprofen 400 mg three times daily for five days or two tablets of paracetamol 500 mg with codeine 30 mg six hourly for 5 days if they were allergic to aspirin or were asthmatics sensitive to aspirin. Patients were not given local anaesthesia intra or post-operatively.ResultsCompleted records were obtained for 161 (93%) patients. Ibuprofen was apparently adequate in controlling pain for 147 out of 161 patients but on further questioning 42 of these patients took supplemental analgesics and self-prescribed paracetamol or a paracetamol combination. Thirteen patients who were prescribed paracetamol with codeine had adequate pain control and did not take supplemental analgesics. One patient did not require any analgesics post-operativelyConclusionTelephone contact with patients 24 and 48 hours post-surgery provides a valuable assessment of pain control following discharge from a day surgery unit. Ibuprofen offered satisfactory control of pain for 65% (95) of patients who underwent routine dento-alveolar surgery. Discharge prescriptions must be given with verbal and written instructions to ensure that patients take the correct dose and self-prescription is within safe doses.

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