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Table 3 Mean duration of pain relief (estimated in hours) among the 3 groups

From: Is there any role for topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of mild to moderate musculoskeletal pain in a Lebanese community pharmacy?

Mean duration of pain relief in each group

“i”

Mean duration of pain relief in each group “j”

Mean duration of pain relief difference among groups (hours) “i − j”

p value

95 % CI

Topical (7)

Systemic (10)

−3

0.001*

−4.6341

−1.5172

Combination (11)

−4

0.001*

−5.6303

−2.2274

Systemic (10)

Topical (7)

3

0.001*

1.5172

4.6341

Combination (11)

−1

0.85

−2.7708

1.0644

Combination (11)

Topical (7)

4

0.001*

2.2274

5.6303

Systemic (10)

1

0.85

−1.0644

2.7708

  1. Duration of pain relief is defined as the length of time that NSAID is still effective. Patients reported a mean of 7 h of pain relief in topical NSAID group, 10 h in systemic NSAID group and 11 h in combination NSAID group
  2. Mean duration of pain relief difference among groups was calculated by subtracting mean duration of pain relief of each 2 groups (i − j). One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was performed to assess if there is a significant difference in the mean duration of pain relief among groups. Duration of pain relief in systemic NSAID group was significantly longer than topical NSAID group by 3 h (p value <0.05, 95 % CI). Duration of pain relief in combination group was significantly longer than topical group by 4 h (p value <0.05, 95 % CI) and insignificantly longer than systemic group by 1 h (p value = 0.85, 95 % CI)
  3. * The mean duration of pain relief difference among groups is significant at p value <0.05 and 95 % confidence interval