Single dose oral rofecoxib for postoperative pain.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Pain Management
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Rofecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, is approved for acute pain and offers fewer gastrointestinal issues than traditional NSAIDs.
• It is considered as effective as conventional NSAIDs for postoperative pain relief.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a single oral dose of rofecoxib for moderate to severe postoperative pain.
• To compare rofecoxib's effectiveness against other acute pain analgesics.

Main Methods:

• Searched multiple databases including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and PubMed for relevant randomized controlled trials.
• Included trials involving adult patients receiving rofecoxib or placebo for postoperative pain.
• Extracted data on pain relief and adverse events, calculating relative benefit and number-needed-to-treat (NNT).

Main Results:

• Seven studies involving 667 patients treated with rofecoxib 50 mg and 315 with placebo met the criteria.
• The number-needed-to-treat (NNT) for rofecoxib 50 mg was 2.2, indicating one additional patient achieved 50% pain relief for every two treated.
• Adverse events were reported less frequently with rofecoxib 50 mg compared to placebo.

Conclusions:

• Rofecoxib 50 mg, a higher dose than typically used for chronic pain, serves as an effective single-dose oral analgesic for acute postoperative pain.
• The study highlights rofecoxib's efficacy in pain management with a favorable safety profile.