European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of alfentanil and morphine in the prehospital treatment of patients with acute ischaemic-type chest pain.
Patients with acute myocardial ischaemic pain would benefit from rapid pain relief. The clinical usefulness of alfentanil, which has a rapid onset of action, was therefore assessed as the initial pain relieving opioid in patients suffering from acute myocardial ischaemic pain. The effects of alfentanil were compared with those of morphine in the prehospital treatment of 40 haemodynamically stable patients suffering from acute ischaemic-type chest pain. ⋯ Alfentanil was found to provide effective analgesia during the follow-up period of 15 minutes. No haemodynamic or respiratory side effects occurred. It is concluded that alfentanil is an effective analgesic in the prehospital treatment of myocardial ischaemic pain.