Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Oct 7;2009(4):CD007547.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007547.pub2.

Single dose oral fenbufen for acute postoperative pain in adults

R Andrew Moore  1 , Sheena Derry, Henry J McQuay
Affiliations

Single dose oral fenbufen for acute postoperative pain in adults

R Andrew Moore et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background: Fenbufen is a non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), used to treat acute and chronic painful conditions. There is no known systematic review of its use in acute postoperative pain.

Objectives: To assess efficacy, duration of action, and associated adverse events of single dose oral fenbufen in acute postoperative pain in adults.

Search strategy: We searched Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Oxford Pain Relief database for studies to June 2009.

Selection criteria: Randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trials of single dose orally administered fenbufen in adults with moderate to severe acute postoperative pain.

Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. Pain relief or pain intensity data were extracted and converted into the dichotomous outcome of number of participants with at least 50% pain relief over 4 to 6 hours, from which relative risk and number needed to treat to benefit (NNT) were calculated. Numbers of participants using rescue medication over specified time periods, and time to use of rescue medication, were sought as additional measures of efficacy. Information on adverse events and withdrawals were collected.

Main results: Searches identified only one study with (90 participants in total, 31 taking fenbufen). The study compared oral fenbufen 800 mg, fenbufen 400 mg, and placebo in participants with established postoperative pain. Fenbufen at both doses had apparent analgesic efficacy, but the numbers of participants was too small to allow sensible analysis. Gastrointestinal adverse events were noted in 4 of 15 participants taking fenbufen 800 mg.

Authors' conclusions: In the absence of evidence of efficacy for oral fenbufen in acute postoperative pain, its use in this indication is not justified at present. Because trials clearly demonstrating analgesic efficacy in the most basic of acute pain studies is lacking, use in other indications should be evaluated carefully. Given the large number of available drugs of this and similar classes which are effective, there is no urgent research agenda for this particular drug.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

SD, RAM & HJM have received research support from charities, government and industry sources at various times, this work was supported by an NHS Cochrane Collaboration Grant and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Programme. RAM and HJM have consulted for various pharmaceutical companies. RAM and HJM have received lecture fees from pharmaceutical companies related to analgesics and other healthcare interventions.

Update of

  • doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007547

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

References to studies included in this review

Coutinho 1976 {published data only}
    1. Coutinho A, Bonelli J, Carvalho PC. A double‐blind comparative study of the analgesic effects of fenbufen, codeine, aspirin, propoxyphene and placebo. Current Therapeutic Research, Clinical & Experimental 1976;19(1):58‐65. - PubMed

References to studies excluded from this review

Henrikson 1979 {published data only}
    1. Henrikson PA, Tjernberg A, Ahlstrom U, Peterson LE. Analgesic efficacy and safety of Fenbufen following surgical removal of a lower wisdom tooth: a comparison with acetylsalicylic acid and placebo. Journal of International Medical Research 1979;7(2):107‐16. - PubMed
Nishida 1986 {published data only}
    1. Nishida K, Suzuki M, Saigusa F, Agari Y, Satoh T, Hisano Y. Clinical evaluation of fenbufen in the treatment of postoperative inflammation in oral surgery [Japanese]. Shigaku ‐ Odontology 1986;74(1):30‐45. - PubMed
Sunshine 1975 {published data only}
    1. Sunshine A. Analgesic value of fenbufen in postoperative patients. A comparative oral analgesic study of fenbufen, aspirin, and placebo. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1975;15(8‐9):591‐7. - PubMed

Additional references

Barden 2004
    1. Barden J, Edwards JE, McQuay HJ, Wiffen PJ. Relative efficacy of oral analgesics after third molar extraction. British Dental Journal 2004;197(7):407‐11. - PubMed
Berg 1999
    1. Berg J, Fellier H, Christoph T, Grarup J, Stimmeder D. The analgesic NSAID lornoxicam inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX)‐1/‐2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and the formation of interleukin (IL)‐6 in vitro. Inflammation Research 1999;48:369‐79. - PubMed
Brogden 1981
    1. Brogden RN. Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory analgesics other than salicylates. Drugs 1986;32(Suppl 4):27‐4. - PubMed
Brogden 1986
    1. Brogden RN, Heel RC, Speight TM, Avery GS. Fenbufen: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic use in rheumatic diseases and acute pain. Drugs 1981;21(1):1‐22. - PubMed
Clarke 2009
    1. Clarke R, Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single dose oral etoricoxib for acute postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004309.pub2] - DOI - PubMed
Collins 1997
    1. Collins SL, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. The visual analogue pain intensity scale: what is moderate pain in millimetres?. Pain 1997;72:95‐7. - PubMed
Collins 2001
    1. Collins SL, Edwards J, Moore RA, Smith LA, McQuay HJ. Seeking a simple measure of analgesia for mega‐trials: is a single global assessment good enough?. Pain 2001;91(1‐2):189‐94. - PubMed
Cook 1995
    1. Cook RJ, Sackett DL. The number needed to treat: a clinically useful measure of treatment effect. BMJ 1995;310(6977):452‐4. - PMC - PubMed
Cooper 1991
    1. Cooper SA. Single‐dose analgesic studies: the upside and downside of assay sensitivity. The design of analgesic clinical trials. Advances in Pain Research Therapy 1991;18:117‐24.
Derry 2008
    1. Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single dose oral celecoxib for acute postoperative pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 4. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004233] - DOI - PubMed
Derry C 2009a
    1. Derry C, Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single dose oral naproxen and naproxen sodium for acute postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 1. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004234.pub3] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Derry C 2009b
    1. Derry C, Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single dose oral ibuprofen for acute postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 3. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001548] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Derry P 2009
    1. Derry P, Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single dose oral diclofenac for acute postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004768] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Fitzgerald 2001
    1. FitzGerald GA, Patrono C. The coxibs, selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase‐2. New England Journal of Medicine 2001;345(6):433‐42. - PubMed
Gaskell 2009
    1. Gaskell H, Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single dose oral oxycodone and oxycodone plus paracetamol (acetaminophen) for acute postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 3. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002763] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Hawkey 1999
    1. Hawkey CJ. Cox‐2 inhibitors. Lancet 1999;353(9149):307‐14. - PubMed
Jadad 1996a
    1. Jadad AR, Carroll D, Moore RA, McQuay H. Developing a database of published reports of randomised clinical trials in pain research. Pain 1996;66(2‐3):239‐46. - PubMed
Jadad 1996b
    1. Jadad AR, Moore RA, Carroll D, Jenkinson C, Reynolds DJM, Gavaghan DJ, et al. Assessing the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials: is blinding necessary?. Controlled Clinical Trials 1996;17:1‐12. - PubMed
Kerwar 1983
    1. Kerwar SS. Pharmacologic properties of fenbufen. The American Journal of Medicine 1983;75(4B):62‐9. - PubMed
L'Abbe 1987
    1. L'Abbé KA, Detsky AS, O'Rourke K. Meta‐analysis in clinical research. Annals of Internal Medicine 1987;107:224‐33. - PubMed
Lloyd 2009
    1. Lloyd R, Derry S, Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Intravenous or intramuscular parecoxib for acute postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004771.pub4] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
McQuay 2005
    1. McQuay HJ, Moore RA. Placebo. Postgraduate Medical Journal 2005;81:155‐60. - PMC - PubMed
Moore 1996
    1. Moore A, McQuay H, Gavaghan D. Deriving dichotomous outcome measures from continuous data in randomised controlled trials of analgesics. Pain 1996;66(2‐3):229‐37. - PubMed
Moore 1997a
    1. Moore A, Moore O, McQuay H, Gavaghan D. Deriving dichotomous outcome measures from continuous data in randomised controlled trials of analgesics: use of pain intensity and visual analogue scales. Pain 1997;69(3):311‐5. - PubMed
Moore 1997b
    1. Moore A, McQuay H, Gavaghan D. Deriving dichotomous outcome measures from continuous data in randomised controlled trials of analgesics: verification from independent data. Pain 1997;69(1‐2):127‐30. - PubMed
Moore 1997c
    1. Moore RA, McQuay HJ. Single‐patient data meta‐analysis of 3453 postoperative patients: oral tramadol versus placebo, codeine and combination analgesics. Pain 1997;69(3):287‐94. [DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3959(96)03291-5] - DOI - PubMed
Moore 1998
    1. Moore RA, Gavaghan D, Tramer MR, Collins SL, McQuay HJ. Size is everything‐large amounts of information are needed to overcome random effects in estimating direction and magnitude of treatment effects. Pain 1998;78(3):209‐16. - PubMed
Moore 2003
    1. Moore RA, Edwards J, Barden J, McQuay HJ. Bandolier's Little Book of Pain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Moore 2005
    1. Moore RA, Edwards JE, McQuay HJ. Acute pain: individual patient meta‐analysis shows the impact of different ways of analysing and presenting results. Pain 2005;116(3):322‐31. - PubMed
Moore 2006
    1. Moore A, McQuay H. Bandolier's Little Book of Making Sense of the Medical Evidence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Moore 2007
    1. Moore RA, Derry S, McQuay HJ. Cyclo‐oxygenase‐2 selective inhibitors and nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs: balancing gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risk. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2007 8:73 2007;8:73. [DOI: 10.1186/1471-2474-8-73] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Moore 2008a
    1. Moore RA, Barden J. Systematic review of dexketoprofen in acute and chronic pain. BMC Clinical Pharmacology 2008;8:11. [DOI: 10.1186/1472-6904-8-11] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Moore 2008b
    1. Moore RA, Derry S, McQuay HJ. Faecal blood loss with aspirin, nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs and cyclo‐oxygenase‐2 selective inhibitors: systematic review of randomized trials using autologous chromium‐labelled erythrocytes. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2008;10(1):R7. [DOI: 10.1186/ar2355] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Morris 1995
    1. Morris JA, Gardner MJ. Calculating confidence intervals for relative risk, odds ratio and standardised ratios and rates. In: Gardner MJ, Altman DG editor(s). Statistics with Confidence ‐ Confidence Intervals and Statistical Guidelines. London: British Medical Journal, 1995:50‐63. - PMC - PubMed
PACT 2007
    1. Prescription Cost Analysis. England 2007. [ISBN: 978‐1‐84636‐210‐1]
Toms 2008
    1. Toms L, McQuay HJ, Derry S, Moore RA. Single dose oral paracetamol (acetaminophen) for postoperative pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 4. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004602.pub2] - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources