Acetaminophen plus codeine compared to ketorolac in polytrauma patients.

Introduction: The manage - ment of pain in polytrauma patients is manda - tory. While non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) represent the most used drugs in polytrauma patients, their use may be asso - ciated with an increased risk of haemorrhage. Opioids may represent a valid alternative to NSAIDs either alone or in combination with ac - etaminophen. Whether their efficacy is compa - rable to that produced by NSAIDs in polytrau - ma patients has never been studied. Patients and Methods: 60 polytrauma pa - tients were enrolled for this study. 30 patients were treated with acetaminophen 1000 mg plus codeine 60 mg tid for 24 hours (Group A), while the remaining 30 with ketorolac 10 mg qid for 24 hours (Group B). Pain intensity has been evaluated using an analogical visual scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (very severe pain). The level of pain was valu - ated at enrolment (T0) as well as after 2 (T2), 12 (T12) and 24 (T24) hours from the starting of the analgesic therapy. Results obtained by the group A were compared with those report - ed by the group B.