ketorolac

Also known as Acular, (+-)-5-Benzoyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine-1-carboxylic acid, (+-)-Ketorolac, rac-Ketorolac, Toradol, Kétorolac, Ketorolaco

Ketorolac, sold under the brand name Toradol, Acular and Sprix, among others, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain. Specifically it is recommended for moderate to severe pain. Recommended duration of treatment is less than six days, and in Switzerland not more than seven days (parenterally two days). It is used by mouth, by nose, by injection into a vein or muscle, and as eye drops. Effects begin within an hour and last for up to eight hours. Ketorolac also has antipyretic (fever-reducing) properties.

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, ketorolac is referenced by 525 other articles, and connects out to myocardial infarction, kidney failure and salicylic acid.

Vinony files it under Aromatic ketones, Drugboxes which contain changes to verified fields and Drugboxes which contain changes to watched fields.

Its subject is documented across 27 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Drug.Verifiedfields: changed
Drug.Watchedfields: changed
Drug.verifiedrevid: 461740251
Drug.image: Ketorolac.svg
Drug.image_class: skin-invert-image
Drug.chirality: Racemic mixture
Drug.caption: Above: molecular structure of ketorolac Below: 3D representation of a ketorolac molecule
Drug.image2: Ketorolac 3D.png
Drug.image_class2: bg-transparent
Drug.tradename: Toradol, Acular, Sprix, others
Drug.MedlinePlus: a693001
Drug.DailyMedID: Ketorolac
Drug.pregnancy_AU: C
Drug.routes_of_administration: By mouth, under the tongue, intramuscular, intravenous, eye drops, nasal spray
Drug.ATC_prefix: M01
Drug.ATC_suffix: AB15
Drug.legal_AU: S4
Drug.legal_CA: Rx-only

via Wikipedia infobox

Chemical data

Formula: C15H13NO3
Molecular weight: 255.27 g/mol
IUPAC name: 5-benzoyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine-1-carboxylic acid
SMILES: C1CN2C(=CC=C2C(=O)C3=CC=CC=C3)C1C(=O)O
InChIKey: OZWKMVRBQXNZKK-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP: 1.9
Polar surface area: 59.3 Å²
H-bond donors: 1
H-bond acceptors: 3
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Drug data · ChEMBL

Withdrawn

Max clinical phase: Approved
Molecule type: Small molecule
First approval: 1989
Admin. routes: oral, parenteral, topical
Indications: heart disease, pain, breast neoplasm, eye inflammation

via ChEMBL · EBI

Research

4,149 papers

Ketorolac Injections for Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Narrative Review.Clinical medicine & research · 2024
Ketorolac use in the emergency department in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2025
[Ketorolac].Revista de medicina de la Universidad de Navarra · 1995
Ketorolac 0.45% ophthalmic solution.Drugs & aging · 2011
Ketorolac for postoperative pain in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Subclass of: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
Has part: carbon
Mass: 255.089543
Has use: medication

Show 9 more facts

chemical formula: C₁₅H₁₃NO₃
canonical SMILES: C1CN2C(=CC=C2C(=O)C3=CC=CC=C3)C1C(=O)O
subject has role: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
MCN code: 2933.99.47
medical condition treated: migraine
physically interacts with: Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 1
Commons category: Ketorolac
defined daily dose: 30
route of administration: intravenous infusion and defusion

Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~10 min read

Encyclopedic overview

8 sections

Contents

Medical uses
Contraindications
Adverse effects
Interactions
Mechanism of action
History
References
Further reading

Common side effects include sleepiness, dizziness, abdominal pain, swelling, and nausea. Serious side effects may include stomach bleeding, kidney failure, heart attacks, bronchospasm, heart failure, and anaphylaxis. Use is not recommended during the last part of pregnancy or during breastfeeding. Ketorolac works by blocking cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX1 and COX2), thereby decreasing production of prostaglandins.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “ketorolac” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.