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. 2023 Mar;67(3):247-255.
doi: 10.4103/ija.ija_599_22. Epub 2023 Mar 16.

Efficacy of flupirtine for postoperative pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Samarjit Dey  1 , Indubala Maurya  2 , Ayush Lohiya  3 , Prateek Arora  4 , Rizwan Suliankatchi Abdulkader  5 , Sairem Mangolnganbi Chanu  6
Affiliations

Efficacy of flupirtine for postoperative pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Samarjit Dey et al. Indian J Anaesth. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Background and aims: Flupirtine has been used for various chronic pain conditions, but its utility in the perioperative period as an analgesic is still inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of flupirtine for postoperative pain.

Methods: PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were explored for the randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which compared flupirtine with other analgesic/placebo for perioperative pain in adult patients undergoing surgery. The standardised mean difference (SMD) of pain scores, the need for rescue analgesia and all adverse effects were assessed. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochrane's Q statistic test and I2 statistic. Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias and the quality of the RCTs.

Results: A total of 13 RCTs (including 1,014 patients) that evaluated the use of flupirtine for postoperative pain were included in the study. The pooled SMD of postoperative pain scores revealed that flupirtine and other analgesics were comparable at 0, 6, 12 and 24 hours (P > 0.05), while at 48 hours, flupirtine showed poor pain control (P = 0.04) as compared to other analgesics. There were no significant differences at other time points and on comparison of flupirtine with placebo. The side effect profile was comparable between flupirtine and other analgesics.

Conclusion: The current evidence suggests that perioperative flupirtine was not superior to other most commonly used analgesics and placebo for the treatment of postoperative pain.

Keywords: Acute pain; flupirtine; non-opioid analgesic; post-operative pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow Chart
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plots for individual outcomes – flupirtine versus other analgesics
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plots for individual outcomes – flupirtine versus placebo
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risk of bias assessment of included studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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