Pain Medicine for Wound Care Procedures

This is a randomized double-blind study to determine if the administration of a small-dose of ketamine (an anesthetic)added to morphine (an opioid) contributes to reducing pain intensity during open wound care procedure (WCP)in patients who have had a traumatic injury and are in an Intensive Care Unit. Patients will be randomized to receive morphine plus saline (a placebo) or morphine plus ketamine before the WCP. The second time the patient is scheduled for WCP (no less than 24 hours), patients will be crossed over to receive the treatment they did not receive the first time. It is hypothesized that patients who receive the combination of morphine and ketamine will have better pain control during the procedure than patients who just receive morphine.