Oxycodone/Ibuprofen Combination Tablet

A Review of its Use in the Management of Acute Pain

Oldfield, Vicki
Perry, Caroline M

Adis International Limited, Auckland, New Zealand

Various sections of the manuscript reviewed by:R. Barkin, Department of Anesthesiology, Rush Presbyterian St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA; R. Dionne, Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Pain and Neurosensory Mechanisms Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; F. Jamali, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; G. Pasternak, Department of Neurology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA; R. Pöyhiä, Department of Anesthesia, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; A.B. Shang, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA; N. Singla, Department of Anesthesia, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, California, USA; M.T. Smith, School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; T. Van Dyke, Clinical Research Centre, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Correspondence: Vicki Oldfield, Adis International Limited, 41 Centorian Drive, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 1311, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected]

Drugs 65(16):p 2337-2354, 2005.

Oxycodone/ibuprofen 5mg/400mg (Combunox™) is an oral fixed-dose combination tablet with analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. It is approved in the US for the short-term (up to 7 days) management of acute, moderate-to-severe pain and is the first and only fixed-dose combination containing ibuprofen and oxycodone.

A single dose of oxycodone/ibuprofen 5mg/400mg provided better analgesia than low-dose oxycodone or ibuprofen administered alone in most trials and appears to be more effective than a single dose of some other fixed-dose combination analgesics. It is generally well tolerated after single or multiple doses and short-term use is not expected to produce any of the serious adverse effects typically associated with the long-term use of opioids or NSAIDs. Thus, oxycodone/ibuprofen 5mg/400mg is an effective, convenient treatment option for the short-term management of acute, moderate-to-severe pain.