Intravenous Acetaminophen vs. Ketorolac in Terms of Pain Management in Prehospital Emergency Services: A Randomized Clinical Trial

INTRODUCTION: Although pain management in EDs has been fully addressed in clinical trials, prehospital settings have rarely been investigated. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of intravenous acetaminophen with that of ketorolac in pre-hospital pain control. METHOD: This randomized clinical trial (RCT) was performed at a prehospital setting during EMS missions in Tehran, Iran. The eligible candidates comprised all patients over the age of 7 years with a complaint of moderate to severe pain. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups, one receiving 30 mg of intravenous (IV) ketorolac and the other 1 g of IV acetaminophen. The pain intensity was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) before administering the analgesic and upon admission to the ED. RESULTS: The present study was conducted on 150 patients aged 8–81 years with a mean age of 40.4 ± 17.7, including 84 (56%) males. The mean reduction in the pain score was 14.9±8.6 in the acetaminophen group and 16.0±8.8 in the ketorolac group. Univariate analyses suggested no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of delta pain score (pain reduction) (P=0.429). CONCLUSION: Based on the obtained findings, both ketorolac and acetaminophen could be administered for pain management in prehospital settings in both traumatic and non-traumatic patients in case their contraindications are considered.