Objectives: To determine whether β-adrenoreceptor agonists are effective analgesics for patients with renal colic through a systematic review of the literature.
Setting: Adult emergency departments or acute assessment units.
Participants: Human participants with proven or suspected renal colic.
Interventions: β-adrenoreceptor agonists.
Outcome measures: Primary: level of pain at 30 min following administration of the β-agonist. Secondary: level of pain at various time points following β-agonist administration; length of hospital stay; analgesic requirement; stone presence, size and position; degree of hydronephrosis.
Results: 256 records were screened and 4 identified for full-text review. No articles met the inclusion criteria.
Conclusions and implications: There is no evidence to support or refute the proposed use of β-agonists for analgesia in patients with renal colic. Given the biological plausibility and existing literature base, clinical trials investigating the use of β-adrenoreceptor agonists in the acute setting for treatment of the pain associated with renal colic are recommended.
Trial registration number: CRD42015016266.
Keywords: ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY MEDICINE; PAIN MANAGEMENT; UROLOGY.
Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/