Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Methods of Postoperative Pain Control Following Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: To conduct a scoping review regarding current pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of postoperative pain control following oral and maxillofacial surgery.Materials and Methods: PubMed was used to conduct research for this study. Identification criteria included surgery: patients undergoing the extraction of third molars; therapy: pharmacological or nonpharmacological methods; and outcomes: postoperative pain control. The search included full-text RCTs published after October 13, 2014, that were electronically accessible on PubMed and in the English language. After assessing quality, a scoping review was performed.Results: Thirty-five RCTs were evaluated, which included a total of 3,791 subjects. The studies evaluated patients' postoperative pain by either utilizing a visual analogue scale (VAS), measuring the time between surgery and when rescue analgesics were used, measuring the amount of rescue analgesics used, or by distributing questionnaires.Conclusion: COX-2 inhibitors may provide greater analgesic effects compared to traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Additionally, although the supplementation of an opioid analgesic to a NSAID regimen provides an increase in pain control, it does not further reduce pain levels in a patient alternating between ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Other methods of postoperative pain control mentioned in this review should be further explored in studies that contain larger sample sizes and that evaluate side effects of the treatment.

The effects of Kinesio taping and breathing exercises on pain management after gynaecological abdominal surgery: A randomized controlled study

“…However, pharmacological methods do not always reduce post‐operative pain sufficiently and cause problems due to undesired side effects (e.g., nausea–vomiting, respiratory depression, abdominal distension, gas pain and allergy) (Mizrak Sahin et al, 2021). Therefore, recently non‐pharmacological methods have been applied more often to reduce post‐operative pain and related problems (Elmowitz & Shupak, 2021).…”

“…Therefore, recently non-pharmacological methods have been applied more often to reduce post-operative pain and related problems (Elmowitz & Shupak, 2021).…”