Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that were double-blind were eligible for inclusion. The review included summary data and IPD, where available.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies comparing ibuprofen with placebo were eligible for inclusion. The included studies used a 400-mg single dose of ibuprofen.
Participants included in the review
Adult patients with moderate or severe post-operative pain were eligible for inclusion. The majority of the included studies were of patients having a third molar extraction. Other operative procedures were episiotomy, abdominal hysterectomy, Caesarean section and various oral surgery procedures. Women represented 67% of participants in studies providing summary data and 60% of participants in studies providing individual patient data (IPD).
Outcomes assessed in the review
Studies using conventional pain measurement methods from which the proportion of patients achieving at least 50% pain relief over 4 to 6 hours could be obtained were eligible for inclusion. The outcomes in the included studies were pain intensity and pain relief (assessed using visual analogue scales), patient global assessments, and time to meaningful pain relief.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors did not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many reviewers performed the selection.