Scandinavian journal of pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Low dose ketamine versus morphine for acute severe vaso occlusive pain in children: a randomized controlled trial.
Acute pain episodes associated with sickle cell disease (SCD) are very difficult to manage effectively. Opioid tolerance and side effects have been major roadblocks in our ability to provide these patients with adequate pain relief. Ketamine is cheap, widely safe, readily available drug, with analgesic effects at sub-anesthetic doses and has been used in wide range of surgeries, pediatric burns dressing change and cancer related pain however, literature concerning its use in sickle cell crises is still limited in our setting. This study aimed to establish if 1 mg/kg of intravenous ketamine is non inferior to intravenous morphine 0.1 mg/kg in severe SCD-associated pain. ⋯ Intravenous ketamine at 1 mg/kg can be a reliable alternative to morphine in the management of severe painful sickle cell crisis especially in a resource limited area where morphine is not readily available.