A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of 9.6% Lidocaine of Local Anesthesia for Pain Reduction of Venipuncture in the ED

Park, Duk; Ryu, Ji Yeong; Cho, Gyu Chong; You, Ji Young

Abstract

PURPOSE: A eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA(R)) cream has been used as a topical anesthetic to reduce the pain of procedures penetrating the skin. It is generally applied for 40 to 60 minutes before the painful procedure. Because of the long application period, EMLA(R) is not useful in the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study was to determine whether a 20-minute application of 9.6% lidocaine would be useful in reducing the pain of routine peripheral intravenous cannulation in the ED.
METHODS
We examined 27 male and 19 female patients ages over 18 years of age who required intravenous cannula insertion. Intravenous insertion was performed on 46 patients: 24 patients in the placebo group (mean age: 40.0 years) and 22 in the 9.6% lidocaine group (mean age: 37.6 years). The 9.6% lidocaine or placebo gel was applied and covered with an occlusive dressing for 20 minutes. Pain was scored by the patients using a 0- to 10-cm visual analogue scale.
RESULTS
The patients in the 9.6% lidocaine group (mean pain score: 3.4) experienced less pain than those in the placebo group (mean: 5.3), and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.029).
CONCLUSION
We concluded that a 20-minute application of 9.6% lidocaine is safe and effective for reducing pain associated with venipuncture.