A systematic review on a comparison between intravenous paracetamol and intravenous morphine sulfate for management of patients with trauma injuries

Introduction - Pain is known the most common complaint in emergency departments. Several studies are administered many different protocols to control pain in trauma patients. The aim of the study was to review the major relevant articles in case of application of intravenous paracetamol and intravenous morphine sulfate for management of patients with trauma injuries. Methods - We searched the online databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge. We applied keywords included pain, acute, chronic, morphine sulfate, paracetamol, trauma, limb, wounds, and injuries, damage and etc. Results - We included four eligible randomized clinical trials in this study. Three studies reported superior effects in intravenous paracetamol compared to intravenous morphine sulfate in controlling pain in trauma patients (limb trauma and trauma headache). However, a study reported no significant differences between the two groups in knee arthroscopy in trauma patients. All studies used from VAS methods for measurement of pain score. Conclusion - The results indicated that IV paracetamol presents a superior analgesia than IV morphine sulfate particularly after acute limb trauma and trauma headache. However, further studies should be done that clinician could be have better decision for control pain in trauma patients.