Dr Christina Abdel Shaheed, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, who is from the lead author of a report suggesting that paracetamol may be no better than a placebo in most common pain conditions.

The report found that paracetamol was only proved to be effective in knee and hip osteoarthritis, craniotomy, tension headache and perineal pain after childbirth.

For other conditions where paracetamol is commonly used – including migraine, post-operative pain, dental procedures, childhood middle ear infections, back pain, abdominal pain and common cold-related headaches – the evidence to support its use was low quality or inconclusive.

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