Pharmacokinetics of Intranasal Ketorolac in Children

The intranasal (IN) route of administering medications is an effective means of delivering analgesics to children in a painless and minimally distressing manner, especially in comparison to traditional means of intravenous (IV) or intramuscular (IM) administration, which require a painful and distressing needle stick.

Ketorolac is an analgesic that is commonly administered to children, and can be given by the IN route, in addition to the IV and IM routes. However, the pharmacokinetics of intranasal ketorolac when administered in children has only been described in a limited fashion. The administration of IN ketorolac in children, using the proprietary SPRIX device, which atomizes a fixed amount of ketorolac, produces serum concentrations of ketorolac that are associated with analgesia. However, the concentrations of ketorolac achieved using a mucosal atomization device (MAD) has not yet been evaluated in children presenting to the emergency department. The MAD is a plastic device that attaches to the top of a syringe (see figure). The MAD is much more commonly used for atomizing medications; allows a variable dosage to be administered; and has been shown to be a means of effectively delivering other analgesics and sedatives intranasally.

The purpose of this study is to assess the pharmacokinetics of IN ketorolac when using a MAD to deliver the medication in children presenting to the emergency department. We will determine the maximum serum concentration achieved (Cmax), time to maximum serum concentration achieved (Tmax), and bioavailability (compared to IV ketorolac) when ketorolac is administered intranasally using a MAD.