Codeine 20 mg increases pain relief from ibuprofen 400 mg after third molar surgery. A repeat-dosing comparison of ibuprofen and an ibuprofen-codeine combination.

A combination of 20 mg codeine base and ibuprofen 400 mg was compared with ibuprofen 400 mg in a randomised double-blind cross-over study of multiple doses in 25 patients after 2-stage bilateral third molar removal. The combination produced significantly greater pain relief and doubled the hours of minimum pain intensity and maximal relief on the day of surgery. The patients rated the combination significantly better than ibuprofen alone, and the combination was preferred by 16 of the 22 patients expressing a preference. There was no significant increase in side-effect incidence with the combination. The 30% increase in analgesic effect may be of clinical benefit, and this trial design, cross-over with multiple dosing in out-patients, may be a sensitive test for analgesics, potentially more predictive of side-effect problems than single-dose studies.