Suzetrigine for Acute Pain Control in Patients With Multiple Rib Fractures

Rib fractures are a common and painful injury associated with increased risk of pneumonia, prolonged hospitalization, and higher healthcare utilization. In a national database review, rib fractures were associated with a 10% mortality rate, with mortality increasing incrementally with each additional rib fractured. Effective analgesia is essential in management of these injuries, as improved pain control optimizes pulmonary mechanics and reduces complications. Current analgesic strategies include multimodal pain regimens consisting of oral and transdermal analgesics or regional anesthetics such as epidural catheters. Historically, opioids have been a major component of analgesia, however they are highly addictive and can lead to respiratory depression and epidurals are invasive procedures with associated risks. Suzetrigine (Journavx) is a newly United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, oral non-opioid analgesic that selectively inhibits the NaV1.8 voltage-gated sodium channel, which is solely expressed in peripheral nociceptive neurons. A systematic review including multiple phase III trials demonstrated suzetrigine's efficacy for pain management in both non-surgical and post-surgical patients. Suzetrigine has also been shown to have comparable analgesia to oral opioids with fewer side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, and need for rescue pain medication.