Oral analgesia in post-partum pain: a comparison of ibuprofen (‘Brufen’) and dextropropoxyphene

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Abstract
A double-blind single-dose comparison was performed comparing the analgesic effects of ibuprofen (‘Brufen’) 400 mg. and dextropropoxyphene 65 mg. The women who were admitted to the trial were those who, following full-term vaginal delivery, required an analgesic agent for control of their pain. Pain relief was measured, half hourly for two hours, then hourly for the next ten hours, on a five point scale ranging from no relief to complete relief of pain. Statistical analysis of the results using the Mann-Whitney U Test showed the analgesic effect of ibuprofen to be superior to that of dextropropoxyphene at the one hour, one and a half hour, four hour and five hour recordings at the 5% level of probability, and over the total 12 hour period at the 0.1% level of probability. Side-effects were noted in only one case, this being a patient who had an allergic-like response to ibuprofen.