Publication in Lancet: Pain relief without the use of a needle
"We have finally found a good alternative for pain relief right at the start, when it can be difficult to give painkillers through a needle", say the researchers behind the PreMeFen study, which was recently published in the prestigious journal The Lancet.
The study is led by Fridtjof Heyerdahl, a senior researcher at SNLA, OUS and UiO, and head of the Air Ambulance Department at OUS. The study's first author is Randi Simensen, a research fellow at SNLA and Innlandet Hospital.
One patient group received the medication methoxyflurane, which was inhaled through a pipe. The other group received a nasal spray with the medication fentanyl. The last group of patients received morphine via a needle in a vein, which is the treatment that has been used for several decades. The PreMeFen study is the first randomized controlled trial in the world to compare these three treatment options. And it is being done in the ambulance service, where the patients are.
Links:
Comprehensive popular science article (in Norwegian), from OUS:
Ny studie på smertebehandling i ambulansen: Smertelindring med pipe er like god som morfin (oslo-universitetssykehus.no)
The Lancet article:
Simensen R, Fjose LO, Thorsen K, Olsen IC, Rehn M, Hagemo J, Smalberget L, Heyerdahl F (2025)
Comparison of inhalational methoxyflurane, intranasal fentanyl, and intravenous morphine for treatment of prehospital acute pain in Norway (PreMeFen): a randomised, non-inferiority, three-arm, phase 3 trial
Lancet
DOI 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01575-2, PubMed 41275876
Prehospital Research Group home page
PreMeFen study homepage (in Norwegian) (prehospital methoksyfluran versus intranasal fentanyl)
