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Retrospective Evaluation of a Fixed-Dose Combination of Oxycodone and Acetaminophen to Manage Moderate Pain: The Lower the Better

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Abstract

Introduction

Oxycodone is one of the most commonly used opioid analgesics in the clinical management of pain. The present retrospective analysis aimed to determine the dose of oxycodone that could achieve effective control of moderate pain when combined with a fixed dose of acetaminophen, and the time required to reach a clinically relevant reduction in intensity of pain.

Methods

Data of patients treated with a combination of oxycodone (5, 10, and 20 mg) and acetaminophen (325 mg) were evaluated for gender, current disease condition, basal pain intensity, total daily dose, days of controlled pain at the initial low dose, and pain intensity after treatment using a numeric pain rating scale.

Results

Data from a total of 491 patients were assessed; of these 93.5% of patients experienced persistent non-cancer pain and had an average baseline pain score of 5.68 ± 1.35. For the overall population, the pain score was reduced to 2.49 ± 1.71 with a mean dose of 8.68 ± 4.96 mg oxycodone after 21.60 ± 6.12 days of treatment with the combination. Almost 97% of the patients who reported relief of pain received 1.61 ± 0.67 doses of oxycodone 5 mg combined with 325 mg of acetaminophen.

Conclusion

A low-dose combination of oxycodone with acetaminophen can be effective in the management of moderate pain and may help in reducing the treatment-associated adverse reactions and drug dependence.

Funding

Sponsorship for article processing charges was provided by Molteni Farmaceutici, Florence, Italy.

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Acknowledgments

No funding or sponsorship was received for this study. Sponsorship for article processing charges was provided by Molteni Farmaceutici, Florence, Italy. All named authors meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship for this manuscript, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and have given final approval to the version to be published. The authors thank Nishad Parkar, PhD, of Springer Healthcare Communications, for English and styling of the manuscript before submission. This medical writing assistance was funded by Molteni Farmaceutici, Florence, Italy. The authors would also like to thank Ennio Sarli (Progetti Live Surgery s.r.l. Florence, Italy) for data analyses and support.

Disclosures

Silvia Natoli, Marzia Lazzari, Roberta Carpenedo, Elisa Palombo, Maria Beatrice Silvi, Massimo Mammucari, and Mario Dauri have nothing to disclose.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964, as revised in 2013. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Science and Translational Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Silvia Natoli, Marzia Lazzari, Maria Beatrice Silvi & Mario Dauri

  2. Department of Emergency, Admission and Critical Area, Polyclinic of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Silvia Natoli, Marzia Lazzari, Roberta Carpenedo, Elisa Palombo, Maria Beatrice Silvi & Mario Dauri

  3. Primary Care, ASL RM1, Rome, Italy

    Massimo Mammucari

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  1. Silvia Natoli
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Correspondence to Silvia Natoli.

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Natoli, S., Lazzari, M., Carpenedo, R. et al. Retrospective Evaluation of a Fixed-Dose Combination of Oxycodone and Acetaminophen to Manage Moderate Pain: The Lower the Better. Adv Ther 33, 1025–1032 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-016-0339-0

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