ABSTRACT
Background: Management of postoperative endodontic pain is also a clinical challenge and this is more so in cases of diabetic patients who tend to experience impaired perception of pain and a sluggish healing process. Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen-caffeine combinations are two of the most common effective analgesics, yet there have not been any comparative studies that evaluate the effectiveness between the analgesics with respect to diabetic patients who have undergone endodontic procedures.
Objective: This research was aimed at comparing the effectiveness of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen-caffeine combinations in the management of the postoperative endodontic pain in diabetics.
Methods: A comparative study was carried out at this time between July 2024 and June 2025 at the Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi. One hundred and ten diabetic patients who were receiving endodontic treatment were included and randomly selected into two groups. There were Ibuprofen 400 mg containing Group A and combination containing Acetaminophen 500 mg + Caffeine 65 mg of Group B with regard to comparison of conduct of pain with use of a scale of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at -, 12, 24, and 48 hour (after) observation. The statistical analysis was done on the SPSS software and the significance was conventionally set at p < 0.05.
Results: Group A ( Ibuprofen) had significantly reduced pain level during 6 and 12 hours after the operation as compared to Group B. Nonetheless, there was not any statistically significant change at 24 and 48 hours. Also, the number of patients utilizing rescue analgesics in Ibuprofen group clinical trial was less. Both the groups tolerated the drugs well and there were no severe adverse effects reported.
Conclusion: It has been revealed that ibuprofen was an effective intervention of postoperative endodontic pain in immediate postoperative diabetic patients as compared to the Acetaminophen-caffeine combination. Nevertheless, the pain-relieving properties of the two drugs came together at later stages in the post-surgery period, showing close results in long term pain management. These evidences affirm the administration of Ibuprofen as an ideal pain-taming agent during the initial stages of the procedure in diabetic patients subjected to endodontic operations.
Keywords: Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Caffeine, Endodontic pain, Diabetic patients, Postoperative analgesia, Visual Analog Scale.