Nasal diamorphine eases pain after fractures faster than intramuscular morphine

Current methods for giving analgesia to young people in acute pain have limitations. Kendall et al (p 261) compared the effectiveness of giving diamorphine by nasal spray with morphine by intramuscular injection in young people with clinical fractures. Adequate pain relief was achieved by 20 minutes in 95% of patients, irrespective of the method used. Pain relief was achieved quicker with the spray than with the intramuscular morphine. The spray did not cause discomfort in most patients, whereas, most found the intramuscular rate uncomfortable. No serious adverse events were observed in patients given the spray. The spray is a safe and effective method of pain relief for young people presenting to emergency departments with acute pain resulting from clinical fractures and should be used in preference to intramuscular injections of morphine.

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Relevant Article

Multicentre randomised controlled trial of nasal diamorphine for analgesia in children and teenagers with clinical fractures

Jason M Kendall, Barnaby C Reeves, and Victoria S Latter
BMJ 2001 322: 261-265. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]