Articles: opioid-analgesics.
-
Regional anesthesia · Nov 1996
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyComparative efficacy of epidural, subarachnoid, and intracerebroventricular opioids in patients with pain due to cancer.
Although rarely used, intracerebroventricular opioid therapy (ICV) is an option for the control of intractable pain due to cancer when systemic treatments have failed. The aim of the present study is to use available data from published trials to compare ICV with the more common epidural (EP) and subarachnoid (SA) opioid treatments in an attempt to establish the utility and safety of ICV. ⋯ Intracerebroventricular therapy appears to be at least as effective against pain as other neuraxial treatments. The ICV technique is the only fixed system that is associated with fewer technical problems than the use of simple percutaneous epidural catheters (difference 9%, standard error of the difference 3.4). The present state of evidence indicates that ICV is a successful treatment for patients with intractable cancer pain and compares well with spinal opioid treatments in terms of efficacy, side effects, and complications.
-
Meta Analysis
Analgesic efficacy of paracetamol and its combination with codeine and caffeine in surgical pain--a meta-analysis.
The objective of this study was to quantify the analgesic efficacy of paracetamol and its combination with codeine or caffeine through a systematic overview and meta-analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Systematic retrieval of relevant clinical trials was carried out using computerized searches, historical searches and communication with manufacturers. The results of RCTs were pooled to estimate (i) the difference in percentage improvement of total pain relief (TOTPAR%) and the sum of pain intensity difference (SPID%); (ii) the proportions of patients obtaining moderate to excellent pain relief relative to placebo (ResRR) and (iii) the ratio of patients requiring analgesic re-medication (RemRR). ⋯ In conclusion paracetamol is an effective analgesic for post-surgical pain. Caffeine adds little to the analgesic effect of paracetamol. However, there is some evidence that codeine 60 mg adds to the analgesic effects of paracetamol 600 mg, using pain relief or pain intensity scores as outcomes, but this is not necessarily translated into an increase in number of patients who obtain moderate to excellent pain relief.