A novel prescription intranasal formulation of ketorolac tromehtamine (Sprix Nasal Spray), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been approved for the short-term management of acute moderate to moderately severe pain that requires analgesia at the opioid level.
The approval provides outpatients suffering from acute pain with a non-narcotic and easy-to-administer alternative to commonly prescribed opioids, according to a statement from the product’s manufacturer, Roxro Pharma, of Menlo Park, Calif.
In that statement, Askomur Buvanendran, MD, Director of Orthopedic Anesthesia at Rush University Medical Centers in Chicago, noted that Sprix fills the need for a new non-opioid, non-injectable option for ambulatory pain control “because it minimizes the potential for abuse as well as the negative side effects associated with narcotic pain relieves while providing potent control of moderate to moderately severe pain at the opioid level.”
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Sprix is absorbed rapidly through the nasal mucosa, achieving peak blood levels as fast as an intramuscular injection of ketorolac, Roxro stated.
The total duration of use of Sprix and other ketorolac formulations should not exceed five days, the company noted. Contraindications to Sprix include the presence of peptic ulcer disease, a history of gastrointestinal bleeding, and advanced renal impairment.
