A Rigorous Evaluation of Methoxyflurane is Needed: Comment on “Methoxyflurane Versus Standard of Care for Acute Trauma-Related Pain in the Emergency Setting: Protocol for a Randomised, Controlled Study in Italy (MEDITA)”

Excerpt

We have read with careful attention the article, “Methoxyflurane Versus Standard of Care for Acute Trauma-Related Pain in the Emergency Setting: Protocol for a Randomised, Controlled Study in Italy” by Fabbri et al. [1]. The authors present MEDITA (Methoxyflurane in Emergency Department in ITAly), a Phase IIIb, prospective, randomised, active-controlled, parallel-group, open-label, multicentre trial. We agree with the authors that there is a need for better evidence for the use of methoxyflurane in pain management in the emergency department. Low-dose methoxyflurane was approved based on the STOP! trial, which compared methoxyflurane only to placebo in young patients with acute trauma pain [2]. Despite a total absence of trials comparing methoxyflurane to an alternative analgesic available in the emergency department, huge efforts are made to introduce methoxyflurane to European emergency physicians, seen as a “global market” as reported in an online promotional video [3]. Indeed, they consider that methoxyflurane “can fit a very significant market need in terms of getting people out of pain, without them having to take a narcotic on board”. …