Acute Severe Pain in Emergency Department: Morphine vs. Low-Dose Ketamine

Introduction

Severe pain is a critical issue that can be dangerous due to its location and potential misdiagnosis.

Aim

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of morphine and low-dose ketamine for treating severe pain in the emergency department.

Methods

We conducted a randomized open study with patients over 18 years old experiencing severe pain (NRS ≥6). The morphine group received 10 mg of morphine, while the low-dose ketamine group received 30 mg of ketamine. We measured the effectiveness by checking if patients achieved an NRS of less than 4 within 10 minutes.

Results

We included 120 patients: 66 in the morphine group and 54 in the low-dose ketamine group. The average pain score at the start was similar for both groups (8.8 for morphine and 8.6 for ketamine). After 10 minutes, both groups had a similar number of patients reaching an NRS of less than 4. However, the average pain score was significantly lower in the low-dose ketamine group. More side effects were reported in the low-dose ketamine group.

Conclusions

Low-dose ketamine is as effective as morphine for managing severe pain in the emergency department.

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