Indicated for: pain; fever
Substance: paracetamol (analgesic and antipyretic)
ATC: N02BE01 (Nervous system | Other analgesics and antipyretics | Anilides)
Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is a non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic agent used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain.
It is a widely used over-the-counter medication.
Paracetamol relieves pain in both acute mild migraine and episodic tension headache.
At a standard dose, paracetamol slightly reduces fever; it is inferior to ibuprofen in that respect, and the benefits of its use for fever are unclear, particularly in the context of fever of viral origins.
The aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine combination also helps with both conditions where the pain is mild and is recommended as a first-line treatment for them.
Paracetamol is effective for post-surgical pain, but it is inferior to ibuprofen.
The paracetamol/ibuprofen combination provides further increase in potency and is superior to either drug alone.
The pain relief paracetamol provides in osteoarthritis is small and clinically insignificant.
The evidence in its favor for the use in low back pain, cancer pain, and neuropathic pain is insufficient.