TOPICAL APPLICATION OF LIDOCAINE-PRILOCAINE (EMLA) CREAM REDUCES THE PAIN OF INTRAMUSCULAR INFILTRATION OF SALINE SOLUTION

Objective: Intramuscular injections may be painful, Some of this pain may be caused by the infiltration of medication into the muscle, separ ate from the pain of skin puncture, We hypothesized that topical appli cation of lidocaine/prilocaine (EMLA) cream would reduce the pain of i ntramuscular infiltration. Methods: A double-blinded placebo-controlle d study was performed in 40 adult volunteers to compare the pain of ne edle puncture and of infiltration of saline into the deltoid muscle af ter application of EMLA cream or placebo, Each subject served as his o r her own control, Pain scores were obtained by using a 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS). Results:Pain associated with needle puncture was s ignificantly reduced by EMLA cream as compared with placebo (median VA S score, 7.5 vs 19.5; p = 0.0043), as was pain associated with intramu scular infiltration (median VAS score, 2.5 vs 11; p <0.00005). Conclus ions., Our results suggest that further clinical studies of EMLA cream for modifying perceived pain from intramuscular injection in children are warranted.