FAILURE OF ORAL ANTIPYRETIC DRUGS TO ALTER NORMAL HUMAN PAIN THRESHOLDS

¹ Department of Clinical Science, University of Illinois, College of Medicine Chicago, Illinois

1 . Acetylsalicylic acid, aminopyrine, acetanilid and acetophenetidin, in varying doses, were tested for their effects on normal human pain thresholds, determined by electrical stimulation of the tooth pulp. The effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the pain threshold of the skin was tested by a radiant heat technic.

2. In no case did a drug cause an effect on the pain threshold which differed significantly from that produced by a placebo.

3. These conclusions are drawn:

a) Any significant effect of the antipyretic drugs on normal human pain thresholds is due to a placebo effect, i.e., suggestibility.

b) Therapeutic efficacy in painful disorders is most likely due to the action of these drugs on the pathological process which secondarily causes the pain, or to some unknown mechanism.