UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Intranasal ketamine was no better than placebo when used with IV fentanyl for traumatic pain

Category: Trauma

Keywords: Ketamine intranadal fentanyl trauma pain (PubMed Search)

Posted: 6/30/2024 by Robert Flint, MD (Updated: 12/9/2024)
Click here to contact Robert Flint, MD

192 trauma patients who were receiving pre-hospital fentanyl for moderate to severe pain  were randomized to placebo or intranasal 50 mg ketamine as an adjunct for pain control. There was no difference between the two groups in decrease in pain scale. 
The authors concluded: “In our sample, we did not detect an analgesic benefit of adding 50 mg intranasal ketamine to fentanyl in out-of-hospital trauma patients.”

References

Out-of-Hospital Intranasal Ketamine as an Adjunct to Fentanyl for the Treatment of Acute Traumatic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Jason T. McMullan, MD, MS Christopher A. Droege, PharmD Kathleen M. Chard, PhD Kim Ward Hart, MA

Christopher J. Lindsell, PhD Richard J. Strilka, MD, PhD

Open AccessPublished:June 12, 2024DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.04.018