Chesterfield, U.K.-based Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals reported results from a study of the company's OFIRMEV (acetaminophen) injections. OFIRMEV is the only intravenous formulation of acetaminophen that is FDA approved and marketed in the United States. The study compared the use of oral acetaminophen versus use of IV acetaminophen as part of an analgesic management program for post-spine surgical pain.
The study analyzed the Charlotte, N.C.-based Premier inpatient hospital database between January 2012 and September 2015, encompassing 112,586 spine surgery patients, with 51,835 patients receiving IV acetaminophen. Patients received the acetaminophen starting on the day of surgery until the third day post-surgery.
Seattle-based University of Washington School of Pharmacy and New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University School of Medicine collaborated with researchers on the study.
The findings were presented at the 15th Annual Pain Medicine Meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine in San Diego from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19, 2016.
Here are three takeaways:
1. The study revealed use of IV acetaminophen as part of an analgesic management program for post-spine surgical pain correlated with a decrease in hospital length of stay.
2. IV acetaminophen also resulted in decreased hospitalization costs.
3. The use of IV acetaminophen was associated with significantly lower doses of opioids.