Review article: Efficacy and safety of methoxyflurane analgesia in the emergency department and prehospital setting

Emerg Med Australas. 2009 Feb;21(1):4-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-6723.2009.01153.x.

Abstract

This article reviews the evidence for the analgesic efficacy of methoxyflurane in both prehospital and ED settings, as well as the adverse event profile associated with methoxyflurane use. Although there are no published controlled trials of methoxyflurane in sub-anaesthetic doses, available data indicate that it is an efficacious analgesic. There is inadequate evidence regarding its use as an agent for procedural pain. Despite the potential for renal impairment evident when it was used in anaesthetic doses, no significant adverse effects have been reported in the literature, neither in patients nor occupationally, when the dose used is limited to that currently recommended.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analgesia / adverse effects*
  • Analgesia / instrumentation
  • Analgesia / methods
  • Anesthesia, Inhalation / adverse effects
  • Anesthesia, Inhalation / instrumentation
  • Anesthesia, Inhalation / methods
  • Anesthetics, Inhalation / adverse effects*
  • Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury
  • Child
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Emergency Medical Services / methods*
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Humans
  • Kidney Diseases / chemically induced
  • Methoxyflurane / adverse effects*
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Pain / drug therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Anesthetics, Inhalation
  • Methoxyflurane