J Emerg Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of intravenous ketorolac and meperidine in the treatment of biliary colic.
To compare the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of intravenous (IV) ketorolac tromethamine with IV meperidine in the treatment of biliary colic, a prospective, randomized, double blind study was carried out upon a convenience sample of patients at a large inner city facility. Patients between the ages of 18 and 65 years of age with a history and physical examination consistent with biliary colic were enrolled over a 2-year period. Patients were randomly assigned to receive ketorolac 30 mg IV or meperidine 50 mg IV. ⋯ Although no significant difference was found in overall drug tolerability, patients receiving meperidine reported higher incidences of nausea and of dizziness than those receiving ketorolac (p = 0.009 and 0.003, respectively). Ketorolac tromethamine is a well-tolerated, effective medication in the treatment of acute biliary colic. It showed similar efficacy to meperidine with a decreased number of adverse effects.