A Randomized Comparison of Nitrous Oxide Versus Intravenous Ketamine for Laceration Repair in Children

摘要

Objective: Ketamine is used intramuscularly or intravenously as a sedative when repairing the skin lacerations of children in many emergency departments (EDs). Nitrous oxide (N2O) has the advantages of being a sedative agent that does not require a painful injection and that offers shallower levels of sedation and a rapid recovery of mental state. We evaluated the clinical usefulness of N2O compared with intravenous ketamine when used for the repair of lacerations in children in the ED.