NCT04618497

A Pilot Study on the Use of Methoxyflurane (Penthrox®) for Pain Control in the Emergency Department

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 3
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (actual)
• Sponsor: Hospital Authority, Hong Kong · Other Government
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 64 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Patients commonly visit the emergency department (ED) for pain after musculoskeletal injury and need early treatment with analgesic. Prompt and adequate pain relief can reduce suffering and promote early discharge and return to work. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids are the major injectable analgesic used for moderate to severe pain in EDs in Hong Kong. They are given via intravenous or intramuscular route for faster onset of action to achieve rapid pain relief in the emergency setting. However, injections are invasive and can be distressing for patients. Methoxyflurane (Penthrox®) is recently introduced to our emergency department as an inhalational analgesic. It has been granted registration approval in Hong Kong since 2018, but it is not widely used in the locality. Methoxyflurane is a volatile fluorinated hydrocarbon self-administrated by inhalation through a portable hand-held whistle-shaped inhaler device (Penthrox®) to relieve pain associated with trauma or minor surgical procedures in stable and conscious patients. In this study, the investigators will evaluate the efficacy and safety Penthrox® in the treatment of acute traumatic pain in hospital emergency department setting by comparing it to another conventional analgesic commonly used.

Conditions

• Acute Traumatic Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Methoxyflurane	Each patient in the methoxyflurane group will use one Penthrox inhaler under supervision of trained personnel. After priming the inhaler with 3 mL of methoxyflurane, patient is instructed to inhale through the mouthpiece to obtain analgesia, and then exhale back into the mouthpiece so that any unmetabolized methoxyflurane can be adsorbed by activated charcoal chamber. First few breaths should be gentle and then breathe normally through Inhaler. Onset of pain relief is rapid and occurs after 6-10 inhalations. If stronger analgesia is required, patient can cover the diluter hole with a finger during inhalation. Patients are able to titrate the amount of methoxyflurane inhaled and should be instructed to inhale intermittently to achieve adequate pain control.
DRUG	Ketorolac	Each patient in the ketorolac group will receive one dose of 30mg intramuscular ketorolac injected at gluteal muscle by nursing staff as usual daily practice.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-10-28
• Primary completion: 2020-11-21
• Completion: 2020-11-21
• First posted: 2020-11-06
• Last updated: 2020-12-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Hong Kong