Administration of Oral Acetaminophen to Reduce Costs for the Hysterectomy Patient at a Community Hospital

Intravenous versus oral paracetamol for postoperative analgesia: A systematic review

Paracetamol is a widely used analgesic agent that can be given by several different routes of administration. In the surgical setting, intravenous infusions of paracetamol are used, but an alternative is using oral paracetamol as a premedication. This systematic review is the first to compare the relative efficacy of intravenous and oral paracetamol at providing postoperative analgesia. Nine relevant studies were identified. Intravenous paracetamol resulted in a postoperative pain score of 0.5 points lower than in those receiving oral paracetamol premedication. Patients receiving intravenous paracetamol also had a small reduction in postoperative opioid requirements, but the time at which rescue analgesia was required did not differ. These results suggest that intravenous paracetamol may offer a small advantage over oral paracetamol premedication at providing postoperative analgesia.

Preoperative Intravenous Versus Oral Acetaminophen in Outpatient Surgery: A Double-Blinded, Randomized Control Trial

PURPOSE

Preoperative acetaminophen is recognized as an effective part of the multimodal approach to perioperative pain management. The present study, conducted between April 12, 2018 and February 14, 2019, examined whether there are differences in patient-reported pain, postoperative opioid consumption, negative opioid effects, length of postanesthesia care unit stay, and patient satisfaction with pain control between patients who receive intravenous (IV) acetaminophen and patients who receive oral acetaminophen.

DESIGN

This double-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted among 120 patients undergoing outpatient surgery.

METHODS

Patients were randomized to receive preoperatively either intravenous (IV) acetaminophen (and oral placebo) or oral acetaminophen (and IV placebo). Results were analyzed using SPSS statistical software; statistical analyses consisted of Mann-Whitney U test, independent samples t test, and χ² test. In all analyses, a P value less than .05 was considered significant.

FINDINGS

There were no significant differences in any outcome measures based on the route of acetaminophen administration.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the present study support the practice of administering oral acetaminophen, as opposed to IV acetaminophen, preoperatively as part of the multimodal approach to manage postoperative pain in patients able to tolerate preoperative oral medications.

Preemptive Oral Compared With Intravenous Acetaminophen for Postoperative Pain After Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Hysterectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE

To compare pain after robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy when giving preoperative oral compared with intravenous acetaminophen.

METHODS

This double-blind randomized trial included women undergoing robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign indications. Participants received either acetaminophen 1 g orally then normal saline 100 mL intravenously before surgery, or a placebo orally then acetaminophen 1 g intravenously. The primary outcome measured was difference in pain between the groups 2 hours postoperatively. A sample size of 74 participants (37/group) was needed to achieve 80% power to detect noninferiority using a one-sided, two-sample t-test with an alpha of 0.025 and a noninferiority margin of 10 mm.

RESULTS

From April 2016 through August 2017, 77 patients were enrolled, with 75 participants included in the final analysis. Characteristics were similar between groups. No difference in average pain score was noted 2 hours after surgery, nor at any of the measured time points. Average scores for the oral and intravenous group, respectively, at 2 hours were 35 and 36 mm (P=.86), at 4 hours 36 and 37 mm (P=.96), and at 24 hours 35 and 36 mm (P=.79). Thirty-eight percent of participants in the oral group and 19% of participants in the intravenous group experienced nausea (P=.12). The oral group used 9.7 morphine equivalents in the recovery room, and the intravenous group used 9.5 morphine equivalents (P=.9). The oral group requested analgesia in 45 minutes on average, and the intravenous group requested analgesia in 43 minutes (P=.79).

CONCLUSION

No difference in pain was observed 2 hours postoperatively when comparing preoperative administration of oral compared with intravenous acetaminophen. Given the ease of administration and lower cost of oral dosing, this study supports the oral route as part of the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol for minimally invasive gynecologic surgery.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03391284.