For a study, researchers sought to determine the analgesic effect of a combination of oral VTS-Aspirin® (Vitalis Analgesics, New York, NY) and ketamine in the treatment of acute Musculoskeletal pain (MSK) pain in adult emergency department (ED) patients.
It was a single-arm, prospective, proof-of-concept pilot trial that looked at the analgesic effectiveness of a single dosage of VTS-Aspirin plus ketamine in adult ED patients with acute moderate-to-severe MSK pain. At 60 minutes, the primary outcome was the difference in pain ratings on an 11-point numeric pain rating scale. The requirement for rescue analgesia, the occurrence of adverse events at 60 minutes, and a change in pain levels at 120 minutes were all secondary outcomes.
The study had 25 participants. The mean pain score at baseline was 8.6, while the mean pain score at 60 minutes was 4.8. The dosage of oral ketamine varied from 24 mg to 50 mg, with a mean value of 37.8 mg. There were no clinically significant changes in vital signs. There were no major adverse effects on any of the individuals. The majority of the negative effects were temporary and of low strength.
They found that giving an oral combination of VTS-Aspirin and ketamine to adult ED patients with acute MSK pain resulted in clinically substantial pain reduction in 80% of participants.
Reference: jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(22)00076-2/fulltext
