EFFICACY OF THE TOPICAL ANESTHETIC CREAM, EMLA, IN ALLEVIATING BOTH NEEDLE INSERTION AND INJECTION PAIN

To assess the efficacy of the topical anesthetic cream, EMLA, in allev iating the pain produced by infiltration of local anesthetic prior to surgical skin biopsies, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed on 54 patients undergoing 162 excisional biopsies , Both pain induced by needle insertion and pain induced by local inje ction were significantly diminished after topical application of EMLA cream. However, part of the effect was placebo, because the placebo oi ntment (Vaseline) also produced significant pain alleviation.