Study Summary

84 patients over 18 years of age with isolated rib fractures were included in this single center, prospective, placebo controlled, double blind trial. Patients were randomly allocated to receive either 10% lidocaine spray (LS; n=29), etofenamate spray (ES; n=28) or placebo spray (PS; n=27). The primary outcome of interest was pain intensity measured using a numerical rating scale (NRS) at baseline, and 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes. Other outcomes of interest included rescue medication requirements and adverse events. Study findings suggest that all three groups demonstrated similar NRS scores, with no significant difference in pain reduction found at any timepoint. The maximum reduction was seen in the LS group between baseline and 120 minutes, however this difference was not statistically significant. It was also seen that the need for rescue medication was lowest in the LS group; a difference that was found to be clinically significant but not statistically significant. Importantly, only one adverse event was reported with one patient in the ES group showing signs of redness.