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Ibuprofen compared with ibuprofen plus caffeine after third molar surgery
H J McQuay1, K Angell, D Carroll
1Oral Surgery Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Objectives:
To compare the relative merits of single doses of ibuprofen and ibuprofen plus caffeine in the treatment of pain after third molar removal.
Design:
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose parallel-group comparison of placebo, ibuprofen 200 and 400 mg with ibuprofen 200 mg plus 50, 100 or 200 mg of caffeine.
Subjects:
161 patients undergoing lower third molar removal.
Results:
All active treatments produced significant analgesia and mood elevation compared with placebo. There was no significant difference in the effects of 200 and 400 mg of ibuprofen. Adding caffeine to 200 mg ibuprofen produced significantly more analgesic effect at 45 and 60 min than ibuprofen 200 mg alone. Ten patients reported 11 adverse effects, none in the highest caffeine dose group.
Conclusions:
Caffeine increased the analgesic effect of ibuprofen 200 mg, through an earlier onset of analgesic effect. This was achieved in this single dose context without problematic adverse effects.