Systematic reviews apply strategies that limit bias to the
assembly, appraisal, and synthesis of relevant studies on
a specific topic.1,2 We followed published guidelines3,4 to
search the National Library of Medicine’s Medline and
the Cochrane library databases (January 1, 2000 to
January 17, 2010, date of last search) for prospective,
randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) of IV acetaminophen
vs. either an active comparator (except for propacetamol)
or placebo on adult patients undergoing
surgery and receiving general anesthesia, regional anesthesia,
sedation, or local anesthesia. We limited our
review to English language articles. Data from posters/
abstracts, letters, retrospective trials, case reports, and
unpublished data were not considered. No minimum
sample sizes were required for inclusion of studies.
The following text word search terms were used: