[Caffeine as adjuvant analgeticum for treating acute pain].

Based on 19 studies (7,238 participants) a Cochrane review concludes that the addition of caffeine to an analgesic drug provides superior analgesia compared with the analgesic drug alone. The benefit is small, with a number needed to treat of approx. 16. The use of analgesics containing caffeine is associated with an increased risk of the development of physical dependence, overuse headache, and withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt discontinuation. Combination analgesics with caffeine should only be used temporarily and exclusively for the treatment of acute pain conditions.