β-Adrenoreceptor agonists in the management of pain associated with renal colic: a systematic review

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.