Esteller-martínez V, Paredes-garcía J, Valmaseda-castellón E, Berini-aytés L, Gay-escoda C. Analgesic Efficacy of Diclo- Fenac Sodium versus Ibuprofen following Surgical Extraction

Objective: An evaluation is made of the analgesic efficacy of diclofenac sodium versus ibuprofen after impacted lower third molar surgery. -Study design: The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups (ibuprofen or diclofenac). The difficulty of third molar surgery, performed under local anesthesia, was assessed by the degree of inclusion involved. The recorded study variables were pain intensity and the need for rescue medication during one week. The recordings were made once a day at the same time, using a patient-completed questionnaire. -Results: Eighty-one patients were finally included in the study (87.1%). The results were similar in the first 48 postoperative hours in both groups, though on the third day the diclofenac group tended to show higher pain scores – the differences being nonsignificant, however (p>0.05). This tendency was also reflected by an increased need for rescue medication and the consumption of a larger number of tablets in the diclofenac group. -Conclusions: There were no statistically significant differences in analgesic efficacy between diclofenac sodium and ibuprofen, though the former was associated with an increased need for supplementary medication in the first two postoperative days (p>0.05).