EEMC: Intranasal Sufentanil-Ketamine Appears Safe, Effective for Pediatric Acute Pain

TUESDAY, Oct. 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Intranasal sufentanil-ketamine is fast-acting and appears to be well tolerated and effective at curbing acute pain for pediatric patients in the emergency department, according to a study presented at the annual European Emergency Medicine Congress, held from Sept. 23 to 27 in Paris.

Shammi Ramlakhan, M.B.B.S., from Sheffield Children”s Hospital in the United Kingdom, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of a fixed-dose intranasal formulation of sufentanil-ketamine. The phase 2/3 study included 152 patients (aged ≥1 to <18 years) presenting to the emergency department with moderate-to-severe acute pain.

The researchers found that 54 percent and 88 percent of participants had a pain intensity score of ≤4 at 15 and 30 minutes, respectively. Nearly all patients (95.4 percent) achieved a 30 percent reduction in pain intensity, and 86.2 percent achieved a 50 percent reduction from baseline at 30 minutes. Across all age groups, the median treatment satisfaction score was 5 out of 5 (very satisfied), with 92 percent acceptability. Just under half of participants (49.7 percent) reported at least one adverse event and 46.5 percent reported treatment-emergent adverse events. No severe adverse events were reported, and nearly all (94 percent) were mild. Across all age groups, sedation scores were a median of 0 (awake and alert) or 1 (minimally sedated).

“Pain in children remains under-recognized and under-treated. Our research shows that this drug can provide rapid and meaningful pain relief for children being treated in the emergency department,” Ramlakhan said in a statement. “This also gives doctors a simple and effective option for treating their patients where very few options currently exist.”

This study was funded by Cessatech.

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