Evaluation of sedative/analgesic combination for postoperative pain.

Current pain concepts suggest a dual role in pain perception. Both motivational, effective, and somatosensory components are noted. Pain affects the patient's psyche and, conversely, the patient's state of mind modifies pain perception. Consequently, it might be expected that a sedative/analgesic combination might be more effective than either the sedative or the analgesic alone in controlling pain. A clinical study was carried out to compare a promethazine-A.P.C. combination with promethazine and A.P.C. alone. One hundred forty-nine patients undergoing third molar removal were studied, with each patient serving as his own control. The results indicated a significant difference between the promethazine-A.P.C. combination and prometazine alone or Phenergan alone. No significant difference was noted between the promethazine-A.P.C. combination and A.P.C. alone.