Evaluation of the Effects of Ketorolac Dose on Duration of Analgesia in Emergency Department (ED) Renal Colic Patients

Evaluation of the Effects of Ketorolac 15mg IV Versus 30mg IV on Duration of Analgesia in Patients Who Present to the Emergency Department With Renal Colic

This is a prospective interventional study examining the effect of ketorolac at doses of 15mg versus 30 mg for duration of analgesia in emergency department patients with suspected renal colic.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Renal Colic; Emergencies; Analgesia; Flank Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Ketorolac

Detailed Description

Pain is a common emergency department complaint. With various types of analgesics available, the optimal drug is one that provides adequate pain management with minimal side effects. The goal is to effectively treat the patient while maintaining adequate flow in the emergency department. In cases of moderate to severe pain in emergency departments, opioids have been the gold standard.1 Opiates, such as morphine, are associated with side effects that can be distressing to the patient, as well as, costly to the department. Prescribing opiates includes a reluctance in administering sufficient opioid dosing due to fear of tolerance and dependency.2

It has been demonstrated in other studies that the standard dosing of ketorolac is higher than needed to achieve analgesia but have failed to show to what duration of time analgesia is maintained between the dosages. The study will compare the analgesic efficacy of two doses of intravenous ketorolac (15mg and 30mg) for acute flank pain in the Emergency Department (ED), such as renal colic, and how efficacious the pain was controlled at 120 minutes or upon discharge. Motov et al evaluated the effectiveness of ketorolac in moderate to severe pain with a primary endpoint of 30 minutes, however the peak onset of ketorolac is 120 to 180 minutes.

Our study may further investigate the ceiling dose of intravenous ketorolac. The primary outcome of both Motov et al and Eidinejad et al was pain reduction 30 minutes after ketorolac administration.3,4 These studies differed in the aspect that Eidinejad et al study examined pain reduction up to 60 minutes, while Motov et al observed up to 120 minutes after administration of ketorolac.3,4 Ketorolac has a peak time of onset at 2 to 4 hours. These studies are not observing ketorolac at its optimal analgesic potency. Therefore, a study is proposed to compare 15 mg vs 30 mg intravenous ketorolac with the primary outcome being pain reduction in renal colic at 120 minutes. Nephrolithiasis and ureterolithiasis are the most common diagnoses in the emergency department for which ketorolac is prescribed.5 This study may further evaluate optimal intravenous ketorolac dosing in pathology it is known to be the most advantageous.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 86
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Biren Bhatt, MD; Phone Number: 5485 551-996-2000; Email: biren.bhatt@hmhn.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Jersey
    • Hackensack, New Jersey, United States, 07601
      • Recruiting
      • Hackensack Univarsity medical Center
      • Sub-Investigator: Sujatha Iyengar, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients will be included if they present to the Emergency Department with (all of the following):

• Adult emergency department patients < 65 years old
• One or more of the following common ED chief complaints associated with the suspected diagnosis of renal colic. These chief complaints include but are not limited to: flank pain, back pain, abdominal pain, left and/or right lower quadrant pain, and/or pelvic pain
• Pain score of 4 or greater on the 0-10 NRS
• Determination of treatment with IV ketorolac

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients will be excluded if any of the following apply:

• Allergy to ketorolac
• Pregnant patients
• Previously received analgesic medications within 4 hours prior to administration of ketorolac in our ED
• Known or stated history of renal insufficiency
• Body weight < 50 kg
• Age greater than 65 years
• Patients that do no read/write Spanish or English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: 15mg IV Ketorolac; Patients will be randomized to 15mg IV ketorolac	Drug: Ketorolac; IV Ketorolac for pain
Active Comparator: 30mg IV Ketorolac; Patients will be randomized to 30mg IV ketorolac	Drug: Ketorolac; IV Ketorolac for pain

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in pain scale post ketorolac administration	This study may prospectively compare the mean Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score reduction of 15 mg versus 30 mg of intravenous (IV) ketorolac at 120 minutes after administration to treat renal colic in the emergency department. The scale ranges from 0 to 10 with 0 being "no pain" and 10 being "very much pain".	At 120 minutes (+/-10 minutes) from medication administration

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Need for additional rescue analgesia	Study may also examine the number of patients requesting rescue analgesia within two hours of ketorolac administration (yes vs. no)	At 120 minutes from medication administration
Type of additional rescue analgesia needed	For the patients who need additional pain medication, we will collect the type of medication provided.	At 120 minutes from medication administration
Dose of additional rescue analgesia needed	For the patients who need additional pain medication, we will collect the dose of medication provided.	At 120 minutes from medication administration
Change in pain scale post ketorolac administration at different time points	This study may also determine the mean NRS pain score reduction at different time points (90 minutes, 150 minutes, and 180 minutes) after IV ketorolac administration. The scale ranges from 0 to 10 with 0 being "no pain" and 10 being "very much pain".	At 90 minutes (+/-10 minutes) from medication administration
Change in pain scale post ketorolac administration at different time points	This study may also determine the mean NRS pain score reduction at different time points (90 minutes, 150 minutes, and 180 minutes) after IV ketorolac administration. The scale ranges from 0 to 10 with 0 being "no pain" and 10 being "very much pain".	At 150 minutes (+/-10 minutes) from medication administration
Change in pain scale post ketorolac administration at different time points	This study may also determine the mean NRS pain score reduction at different time points (90 minutes, 150 minutes, and 180 minutes) after IV ketorolac administration. The scale ranges from 0 to 10 with 0 being "no pain" and 10 being "very much pain".	At 180 minutes (+/-10 minutes) from medication administration

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hackensack Meridian Health
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Biren Bhatt, MD, Hackensack Meridian Health

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Catapano MS. The analgesic efficacy of ketorolac for acute pain. J Emerg Med. 1996 Jan-Feb;14(1):67-75. doi: 10.1016/0736-4679(95)02052-7.
• Jelinek GA. Ketorolac versus morphine for severe pain. Ketorolac is more effective, cheaper, and has fewer side effects. BMJ. 2000 Nov 18;321(7271):1236-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.321.7271.1236. No abstract available.
• Motov S, Yasavolian M, Likourezos A, Pushkar I, Hossain R, Drapkin J, Cohen V, Filk N, Smith A, Huang F, Rockoff B, Homel P, Fromm C. Comparison of Intravenous Ketorolac at Three Single-Dose Regimens for Treating Acute Pain in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Emerg Med. 2017 Aug;70(2):177-184. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.10.014. Epub 2016 Dec 16.
• Eidinejad L, Bahreini M, Ahmadi A, Yazdchi M, Thiruganasambandamoorthy V, Mirfazaelian H. Comparison of intravenous ketorolac at three doses for treating renal colic in the emergency department: A noninferiority randomized controlled trial. Acad Emerg Med. 2021 Jul;28(7):768-775. doi: 10.1111/acem.14202. Epub 2021 Feb 17.
• Soleyman-Zomalan E, Motov S, Likourezos A, Cohen V, Pushkar I, Fromm C. Patterns of Ketorolac dosing by emergency physicians. World J Emerg Med. 2017;8(1):43-46. doi: 10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2017.01.008.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 21, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 27, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): March 20, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 20, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Perceptual Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Emergencies; Agnosia; Renal Colic; Flank Pain; Heterocyclic Compounds; Heterocyclic Compounds, 2-Ring; Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring; Indomethacin; Indoles; Ketorolac
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro2022-0546

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No