Summary of findings 4. Mean pain intensity over a 6‐hour period.
| IV paracetamol compared to placebo or other analgesics for postoperative pain | |||
| Patient or population: patients with postoperative pain Settings: hospital Intervention: IV paracetamol Comparison: placebo or other analgesics | |||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | No of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) |
| Paracetamol vs placebo | The mean pain intensity over a 6‐hour period was: 7.48 lower (8.98 to 5.97 lower) | 837 (12 studies) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low1,2 |
| Paracetamol vs NSAIDs | The mean pain intensity over a 6‐hour period was: 2.95 higher (1.18 to 4.72 higher) | 524 (9 studies) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very low2,3,4 |
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; NSAIDs: nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs | |||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate. | |||
1Majority of all individual studies had < 100 total participants. 2Considerable unexplained heterogeneity exists between studies. 3See 'Risk of bias' tables: several unclear assessments related to randomization; unclear to high risk for selective reporting. 4Different NSAIDs studied.