Onset and Effect Duration of Intrabuccal Space and Intramuscular Ketamine in Pediatrics

Painful diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed for children are routine actions. Opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as acetaminophens are among medications that can be used for this purpose. This study aimed to compare the onset and duration of action of intrabuccal (IB, submucosal) space and intramuscular (IM) injection of ketamine in pediatrics.

This clinical trial study was carried out on 126 children of 1-15 years old referred to the emergency room of Al-Zahra and Kashani Hospitals in Isfahan and divided into two 63 populated groups of IM and IB. For one group randomly, 3 mg/kg IB ketamine was administered, and for another group, ketamine was injected intramuscularly at the dose of 5 mg/kg. The drug effect, surgeon satisfaction, and complications were evaluated. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

The mean of time between injection and onset of drug effect in IM group was 5.71 min, whereas in IB group, it was 4.14 min (P < 0.0001). The mean of the duration of drug effect in IM group was 45.54 min, whereas in IB group, it was 24.63 min (P < 0.0001). Complications in IM group were significantly more reported than IB group (33.3% versus 11.1%, respectively, P = 003). The median of surgeon satisfaction in IM group was 3 and in IB group was 4 which was statistically significant (P = 0.007).

IB method is preferred over IM method, and hence, it is recommended to use.