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Comparison of analgesic efficacy of ibuprofen and dexketoprofen in pain management of long bone fractures: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study

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Abstract

Introduction

Long bone fractures (LBF) often cause severe pain, impacting patients’ quality of life. This prospective, randomized, double-blind study aimed to compare the analgesic efficacy of dexketoprofen (Dex) and ibuprofen (Ibu) in LBF patients in the emergency department.

Methods

Conducted between August 10, 2023, and January 17, 2024, the study included 100 eligible patients randomized into Dex and Ibu groups. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores were measured at baseline and at 30, 60, and 120 min. DeltaVAS (ΔVAS) values and ΔVAS percentages (ΔVAS%) were calculated. Primary endpoints were ΔVAS scores (ΔVAS 30-60-120) and ΔVAS% for comparative analysis.

Results

Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in ΔVAS30 (p = 0.359). However, ΔVAS60 exhibited a significant difference (p = 0.027), as did ΔVAS120 (p = < 0.001). ΔVAS%30 showed no significance (p = 0.224), but ΔVAS%60 and ΔVAS%120 were clinically and statistically significant (p = 0.017 and p = < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion

Ibuprofen 800 mg demonstrated superior analgesic efficacy at 60 and 120 min compared to Dex in long bone fractures. These findings suggest ibuprofen’s potential as an effective pain management option in emergency departments.

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Data availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Health Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, Emergency Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Safa Dönmez, Alp Sener, Kadir Yenal & Bekir Kaya

  2. Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Faculty of Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Alp Sener

  3. Ministry of Health Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Emergency Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Nurullah Ishak Isık

  4. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Faculty of Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

    İlker Akbas

Authors
  1. Safa Dönmez
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  4. İlker Akbas
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  5. Kadir Yenal
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Contributions

S.D., A.S., N.I.I.: writing—review and editing, writing—original draft, visualization, validation, supervision, software, resources, project administration, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, data curation, conceptualization. B.K., K.Y.: conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. I.A: writing—review and editing, writing—original draft, resources, project administration, investigation, formal analysis, data curation.

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Correspondence to Safa Dönmez.

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Dönmez, S., Sener, A., Ishak Isık, N. et al. Comparison of analgesic efficacy of ibuprofen and dexketoprofen in pain management of long bone fractures: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-024-02515-w

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