TUESDAY, Sept 29, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A quick spritz to the nose could bring rapid pain relief to injured kids cared for in emergency rooms, new research shows.
According to experts, too many pediatric ER patients are waiting too long for pain relief.
"Nearly a third of children with moderate to severe pain do not receive adequate pain relief within the 15 to 20 minutes recommended in international guidance," noted study lead author Dr. Shammi Ramlakhan of Sheffield Children's Hospital in England.
The new nasal spray combines two medications, sufentanil and ketamine. This combo eased pain within a half-hour for most injured kids in the study, Ramlakhan's team said.
"The results suggest it helps to reduce pain quickly and effectively, without the need for an injection," said Dr. Maša Sorić, head of the emergency department at University Hospital Merkur, Zagreb, Croatia.
Sorić, who wasn't involved in the study, noted that "the treatment did not cause too much drowsiness, and the side effects were mild."
The findings were presented in Paris on Sunday at the European Emergency Medicine Congress.
The study included 152 kids and teens under the age of 18, most of whom had been treated for burns or limb fractures/dislocations at emergency rooms in the United Kingdom and Spain during 2024 and 2025.
All of the kids received the combo-drug nasal spray, with the number of puffs given adjusted for their individual weight.
Fifteen minutes after they got the spray, 54% of recipients said they were in less pain, and that was true for 88% by the 30-minute mark, Ramlakhan's team said.
Side effects were mild, but when they did occur included nausea or vomiting, dizziness and nasal itching.
All of this "is good news for children and their families," Ramlakhan said in a meeting news release. "This also gives doctors a simple and effective option for treating their patients where very few options currently exist.”
Sorić said nasal spray gives doctors more treatment options.
“As doctors we want to give our patients effective treatments, and that includes treatment to reduce any pain they are suffering," she said in the news release. "However, the pain relief options that are currently available for children are limited at the moment, so we really need more treatments like this in the emergency department."
The study was funded by biotech company Cessatech. Because these findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
Find out more about ketamine as an analgesic at Stanford Medicine.
SOURCE: European Emergency Medicine Congress, news release, Sept. 27, 2026
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