Researchers then randomly assigned the patients to get one of four pain-pill combinations: 400mg of ibuprofen and 1,000mg of acetaminophen; 5mg of oxycodone and 325mg of acetaminophen; 5mg of hydrocodone and 300mg of acetaminophen; or 30mg of codeine and 300mg of acetaminophen. Each of the pill combinations looked identical to the patients—three opaque capsules.
The dosages contain very little of each opiod. Based on Googling "normal dose of oxycodone" 5mg is the smallest available dose of oxycodone and half the size of the smallest dose of it under the brand name Oxycotoin. In addition each opiod cocktail contains less acetaminophen than in the non-opiod control.
It's worth noting that the standard pain scale goes from zero to ten and that a mean of 8.7 across 411 patients is very high: closer to "Excruciating Unbearable" than "Utterly Horrible" [1]. Reducing it to 4.3 is to take it down between "Distressing" and "Very Distressing".
None of the treatments reduced the pain to "Tolerable" (level 3). One might say that the study shows that an inadequate cocktail of opoids is no better than an inadequate cocktail without them.
The dosages contain very little of each opiod. Based on Googling "normal dose of oxycodone" 5mg is the smallest available dose of oxycodone and half the size of the smallest dose of it under the brand name Oxycotoin. In addition each opiod cocktail contains less acetaminophen than in the non-opiod control.
It's worth noting that the standard pain scale goes from zero to ten and that a mean of 8.7 across 411 patients is very high: closer to "Excruciating Unbearable" than "Utterly Horrible" [1]. Reducing it to 4.3 is to take it down between "Distressing" and "Very Distressing".
None of the treatments reduced the pain to "Tolerable" (level 3). One might say that the study shows that an inadequate cocktail of opoids is no better than an inadequate cocktail without them.
[1]: https://previews.123rf.com/images/sunshinearts/sunshinearts1...