Effect of Preoperative Ibuprofen on Pain Perception and Pulse Rate in Paediatric Patients with Deep Caries: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

In 30 seconds

This randomised controlled trial evaluated whether preoperative ibuprofen reduces pain and stress responses during vital pulp therapy in 44 children aged 7–13 years with reversible pulpitis in mandibular first permanent molars. Children received ibuprofen 10 mg/kg 40 minutes before treatment or no premedication. The authors report that preoperative ibuprofen significantly reduced intraoperative pain and stress responses. Although postoperative pain was assessed on days 1, 3, and 7, the abstract does not report those results or provide numerical effect estimates.

Key findings

• Preoperative ibuprofen significantly reduced intraoperative pain during vital pulp therapy compared with no premedication.
• The authors report reduced intraoperative stress responses with ibuprofen; pulse rate was monitored as an outcome.

Why it matters

Pain and stress during vital pulp therapy can affect children’s comfort and cooperation. This trial suggests that a pre-treatment dose of ibuprofen may help reduce these responses in children with reversible pulpitis, providing evidence relevant to procedural comfort. The abstract does not quantify the size of the benefit, so its clinical magnitude cannot be assessed from the reported information.

What to keep in mind

The trial included 44 children, and the abstract provides no numerical outcome estimates or results for postoperative pain despite its assessment.