Implications for practice and research

• Intravenous ketamine has been shown to be useful for acute pain in a variety of settings.1

• The present study shows that it provides a greater reduction in pain than morphine but causes more adverse effects in out-of-hospital care.

Context

Conscious trauma patients often suffer severe pain. In general, once a head injury has been ruled out, it is safe to give analgesics as promptly as possible.2 Analgesics are often given in the initial out-of-hospital setting, but are often not as effective as they might be. Thus, it is important to …