| Study | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
| Abedzadeh 2009 | Treatment was not oral (gel versus suppository) |
| Akil 2014 | Treatment was not oral (intravenous) |
| Altungul 2012 | Treatment was not oral (suppository). |
| Bettigole 1981 | Not a single dose |
| Bhounsule 1990 | Not a RCT; quasi‐RCT with concurrent allocation – 2‐group comparison without randomisation |
| Bloomfield 1979 | Treatment not a NSAID |
| Bloomfield 1980 | Treatment not a NSAID |
| Bloomfield 1991 | Not a RCT; personal communication related to non‐completion of a registered trial |
| Bruni 1965 | Not specific to perineal pain; rather postpartum pain in general |
| Bucheli 1994 | Not a single dose |
| Buck 1978 | Not a single dose |
| Cater 1985 | Ibuprofen and codeine phosphate combination treatment was excluded from the review as not a pure NSAID. Zomepirac is an NSAID but was withdrawn voluntarily from the market by the manufacturer in 1983 because it was associated with fatal and near‐fatal anaphylactoid reactions |
| Choi 2000 | Treatment not oral (suppository) |
| Coburn 1966 | Not a single dose |
| Cunha 2011 | Not a single dose |
| De los Santos 1998 | Comparator drug is a combination of paracetamol and codeine |
| Delaram 2012 | Treatment not a NSAID |
| Delaram 2014 | Comparator drug is Lidocaine topical cream |
| Facchinetti 2005 | Examine the effectiveness of multiple doses (not a single dose) |
| Finch 1971 | Not a RCT; cross‐over trial and not exclusive to perineal pain |
| Fragen 1982 | Comparator drug is a combination of NSAID and opioid |
| Gindhart 1971 | Treatment not a NSAID |
| Gruber 1962 | Examines postpartum pain (not specifically perineal pain) |
| Gruber 1976 | Comparator drug is not an NSAID |
| Harrison 1987 | Not exclusively oral treatment |
| Harrison 1992 | Not a RCT; cross‐over trial |
| Kantor 1984 | Data not exclusive to perineal pain; treatment was administered for postpartum pain which may or may not have included post‐episiotomy pain |
| Lataste 1981 | Includes participants with pain other than perineal pain |
| Levin 1978 | Not clear that the intervention is a single‐dose of a NSAID. Author's contact details not found |
| Mazzarella 1989 | Treatment not a NSAID |
| McCallum 1991 | Registration form only – does not appear to focus on management of perineal pain |
| Norman 1985 | Intervention drug is a combination of NSAID and opioid |
| Odigie 1988 | Treatment was not oral (suppository) |
| Offen 1985 | Examines postpartum pain and pain related to general surgery (not specifically perineal pain) |
| Ogunbode 1987 | Not a single dose |
| Olson 1984 | Not exclusive to perineal pain as includes other types of postpartum pain |
| Pedronetto 1975 | Indoprofen was withdrawn from the market worldwide following reports of adverse reactions including reports of carcinogenicity in animal studies |
| Peter 2001 | Comparator drug is not a NSAID |
| Pitton 1982 | Treatment was not oral (intra‐muscular injection) |
| Radman 1961 | Not a single dose |
| Ray 1993 | Treatment was not oral (suppository) |
| Rezaei 2014 | Treatment was not oral (suppository) |
| Searles 1995 | Treatment was not oral (suppository) |
| Searles 1998 | Treatment was not oral (suppository) |
| Sunshine 1982 | Treatment not a NSAID |
| Sunshine 1983c | Not exclusive to perineal pain as includes other types of postpartum pain |
| Sunshine 1983d | Treatment not a NSAID |
| Sunshine 1985 | Abstract only; insufficient information to include; unclear also if pain is reported separately by pain type. Author's contact details could not be identified |
| Sunshine 1986 | Examines postpartum pain (not specifically perineal pain) |
| Sunshine 1987a | Examines postpartum pain and incisional pain following surgery.(not specifically perineal pain) |
| Sunshine 1989 | Measures the adjuvant effect of caffeine on NSAID not NSAID alone versus another NSAID or placebo |
| Szabados 1986 | Not a single dose |
| Taina 1981 | Not a single dose |
| Van Wering 1972 | Examines postpartum pain (not specifically perineal pain) |
| Von Pein 1974 | Not a single dose |
| Walters 1984 | Comparator treatment does not meet inclusion criteria |
| Walters 1985 | Comparator is an opioid; does not meet comparator inclusion criteria |
| Yoong 1997 | Treatment was not oral (suppository) |
NSAID: non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug; RCT: randomised controlled trial