Background: We assessed the analgesic efficacy of parecoxib, acetaminophen, and the combination of both compared with placebo in patients undergoing elective thyroid or parathyroid surgery.
Methods: We randomized 140 patients to receive one of the following i.v. treatments using a double-blinded double-dummy technique: placebo, 80 mg 24 h(-1) parecoxib, 5 g 24 h(-1) acetaminophen, or 80 mg parecoxib plus 5 g acetaminophen. We provided rescue analgesia with piritramide delivered by a patient-controlled analgesia device. We measured opioid consumption and pain intensity over 24 h after operation.
Results: Patient characteristic data, anaesthetic, and surgical characteristics of the patients in the four groups were similar. Parecoxib, acetaminophen, and the combination significantly reduced opioid requirements during 24 h after surgery [mean (sd) 12.5 (10.9) mg for parecoxib, 14.2 (12.3) mg for acetaminophen, and 11.9 (10.7) mg for combination] compared with placebo [23.5 (15.3) mg, P<0.05]. However, the combination of parecoxib and acetaminophen did not have any advantage over individual drugs in terms of opioid consumption in our trial (P>0.05).
Conclusions: Parecoxib and acetaminophen effectively reduce postoperative opioid requirements after thyroid or parathyroid surgery. The combination of these drugs is not associated with a further reduction in opioid consumption.