Efficacy of rofecoxib and nimesulide in controlling postextraction pain in oral surgery: a randomised comparative study.

Rofecoxib 50 mg/day for 6 days provided better postoperative analgesia than nimesulide 200 mg/day in a randomised trial in patients (n = 130) undergoing surgical extraction of third molars. The superiority of rofecoxib over nimesulide was especially marked during the first 2-3 postoperative days and in patients with fully impacted molars. The drugs had similar effects on clinical signs of local postoperative inflammation. The effectiveness of rofecoxib in this study, plus considerations of the toxicity profile of nimesulide, support the conclusion that rofecoxib is preferable to nimesulide for relief of post-operative pain in patients undergoing surgical extraction of molars.