Ketamine Versus Opioids for Acute Pain in the Emergency Department.

Abstract

Acute pain is one of the most common complaints in the emergency department. With recent efforts to find effective non-opioid analgesics,ketaminehas surfaced as a potential optionfor ED analgesia.1-3 Whileketamine is typically used as a sedativeagent, several studies have shown thatwhen it is administered in sub-dissociative doses, both as a stand-alone agent and as an adjunct to opioids, itmay also provide analgesia.4 Two recently published meta-analyses compared ketamine with opioid analgesics in adult ED patients with acute pain.