Objective To compare the clinical effectiveness of intravenous paracetamol with intravenous morphine in patients with moderate to severe traumatic limb pain.

Methods This randomised, double-blind pilot study was conducted in an urban UK emergency department. Patients between 16 and 65 years old with isolated limb trauma and in moderate to severe pain (pain score of 7 or more) received either 1 g intravenous paracetamol or 10 mg intravenous morphine sulphate over 15 min. The primary outcome measure was pain score measured on a visual analogue scale at 0, 5, 15, 30 and 60 min after commencing drug administration. The requirement for rescue analgesia and the frequency of adverse reactions were also recorded.

Results 55 patients were recruited over 10 months. There was no significant difference in analgesic effect between the paracetamol and morphine groups at any time interval. There was no significant difference in the rescue analgesia administered, but there were significantly more adverse reactions in the morphine group.

Conclusion Intravenous paracetamol appears to provide a level of analgesia comparable to intravenous morphine in isolated limb trauma. Further larger studies are required.