Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period

BACKGROUND: Perineal pain is a common but poorly studied adverse outcome following childbirth. Pain may result from perineal trauma due to bruising, spontaneous tears, surgical incisions (episiotomies), or in association with operative births (ventouse or forceps assisted births). OBJECTIVES: To det...

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Main Authors: Chou, D., Abalos, E., Gyte, G. M., Gulmezoglu, A. M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:EN
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5066
id okr-10986-5066
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-50662021-04-23T14:02:20Z Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period Chou, D. Abalos, E. Gyte, G. M. Gulmezoglu, A. M. Acetaminophen Acute Disease Obstetrical Analgesia Non-Narcotic Analgesics Female Humans Pain Perineum Postpartum Period Pregnancy Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic BACKGROUND: Perineal pain is a common but poorly studied adverse outcome following childbirth. Pain may result from perineal trauma due to bruising, spontaneous tears, surgical incisions (episiotomies), or in association with operative births (ventouse or forceps assisted births). OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy of a single administration of paracetamol (acetaminophen) systemic drugs used in the relief of acute postpartum perineal pain SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (December 2009). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing paracetamol (acetaminophen) in a single dose compared with placebo for women with early postpartum perineal pain. We excluded quasi-RCTs and cross-over studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors assessed each paper for inclusion and extracted data. One review author reviewed the decisions and confirmed calculations for pain relief scores. MAIN RESULTS: We have included 10 studies describing two dosages of paracetamol. Of these, five studies (526 women) assessed 500 mg to 650 mg and six studies (841 women) assessed 1000 mg of paracetamol. We chose to use random-effects meta-analyses because of the heterogeneity in dosage used. Studies were from the 1970s to the early 1990s, and there was insufficient information to assess the risk of bias adequately, hence the findings need to be interpreted within this context.More women experienced pain relief with paracetamol compared with placebo (average risk ratio (RR) 2.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59 to 2.89, 10 studies, 1279 women). In addition, there were significantly fewer women having additional pain relief with paracetamol compared with placebo (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.55, eight studies, 1132 women). Both the 500 mg to 650 mg and 1000 mg doses were effective in providing more pain relief than placebo.Maternal and neonatal potential adverse drug effects were not assessed in any of the included studies. Indeed few secondary outcomes were assessed. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: More women experienced pain relief, and fewer had additional pain relief, with paracetamol compared with placebo, although potential adverse effects were not assessed and generally the quality of studies was unclear. 2012-03-30T07:31:06Z 2012-03-30T07:31:06Z 2010 Journal Article Cochrane Database Syst Rev 1469-493X (Electronic) 1361-6137 (Linking) http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5066 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language EN
topic Acetaminophen
Acute Disease
Obstetrical Analgesia
Non-Narcotic Analgesics
Female
Humans
Pain
Perineum
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
spellingShingle Acetaminophen
Acute Disease
Obstetrical Analgesia
Non-Narcotic Analgesics
Female
Humans
Pain
Perineum
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Chou, D.
Abalos, E.
Gyte, G. M.
Gulmezoglu, A. M.
Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period
relation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description BACKGROUND: Perineal pain is a common but poorly studied adverse outcome following childbirth. Pain may result from perineal trauma due to bruising, spontaneous tears, surgical incisions (episiotomies), or in association with operative births (ventouse or forceps assisted births). OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy of a single administration of paracetamol (acetaminophen) systemic drugs used in the relief of acute postpartum perineal pain SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (December 2009). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing paracetamol (acetaminophen) in a single dose compared with placebo for women with early postpartum perineal pain. We excluded quasi-RCTs and cross-over studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors assessed each paper for inclusion and extracted data. One review author reviewed the decisions and confirmed calculations for pain relief scores. MAIN RESULTS: We have included 10 studies describing two dosages of paracetamol. Of these, five studies (526 women) assessed 500 mg to 650 mg and six studies (841 women) assessed 1000 mg of paracetamol. We chose to use random-effects meta-analyses because of the heterogeneity in dosage used. Studies were from the 1970s to the early 1990s, and there was insufficient information to assess the risk of bias adequately, hence the findings need to be interpreted within this context.More women experienced pain relief with paracetamol compared with placebo (average risk ratio (RR) 2.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59 to 2.89, 10 studies, 1279 women). In addition, there were significantly fewer women having additional pain relief with paracetamol compared with placebo (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.55, eight studies, 1132 women). Both the 500 mg to 650 mg and 1000 mg doses were effective in providing more pain relief than placebo.Maternal and neonatal potential adverse drug effects were not assessed in any of the included studies. Indeed few secondary outcomes were assessed. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: More women experienced pain relief, and fewer had additional pain relief, with paracetamol compared with placebo, although potential adverse effects were not assessed and generally the quality of studies was unclear.
format Journal Article
author Chou, D.
Abalos, E.
Gyte, G. M.
Gulmezoglu, A. M.
author_facet Chou, D.
Abalos, E.
Gyte, G. M.
Gulmezoglu, A. M.
author_sort Chou, D.
title Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period
title_short Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period
title_full Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period
title_fullStr Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period
title_full_unstemmed Paracetamol/Acetaminophen (Single Administration) for Perineal Pain in the Early Postpartum Period
title_sort paracetamol/acetaminophen (single administration) for perineal pain in the early postpartum period
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5066
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