Trial conducted to evaluate newer methods of pain relief for limb injuries
SINGAPORE: A year-long trial is being conducted on two medications to ensure patients get a faster and more effective delivery of pain relief.
The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will study the suitability of Penthrox and Tramadol for early pain relief.
Penthrox is delivered through an inhaler while Tramadol is injection-based.
The trial, which started in February, involves 400 patients who sustained limb injuries over a one-year period.
The efficacy of the medications will be evaluated based on how patients rated their own pain — on a scale of 1 to 10 at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes — after the medicine is administered.
At the end of the trial, recommendations will be made to roll out the most effective form of medication to ambulances.
Doctors say these medications are more portable compared to what paramedics carry at present.
Associate Professor Marcus Ong, senior consultant at Department of Emergency Medicine at SGH, said: “Currently, our SCDF ambulances use a gas called Entonox, or in layperson’s term, laughing gas, for relief of pain. The problem with Entonox is it is cylinder-based. So it is a tank that weighs at least 5kg and it is not easy to bring to, for example, to a car crash victim and deliver it to the place they are found.”
As published on TradeNewswire.net – Tuesday 8 July 2014