Which class is given primarily to reduce pain and inflammation?

• A. Analgesics (Class)
• B. Analgesic narcotics
• C. Analgesic anti-inflammatories
• D. Analgesic antipyretics

Answer: (C)

Pain and inflammation are both driven by mediators like prostaglandins, so the best-fitting class is analgesic anti-inflammatories. These are typically NSAIDs, a group of drugs that relieve pain while also reducing inflammation by inhibiting COX enzymes and lowering prostaglandin synthesis. This dual action distinguishes them from plain analgesics, which mainly address pain without inflammation, and from analgesic antipyretics, which primarily reduce fever (and often have little anti-inflammatory effect). Opioids provide strong pain relief but don’t address inflammation, and thus don’t fit the requirement of reducing both pain and inflammation. So the class that’s given primarily to reduce both pain and inflammation is the analgesic anti-inflammatories.