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Evaluation of topical anesthetics by laser‐induced sensation: Comparison of EMLA 5% cream and 40% lidocaine in an acid mantle ointment
Author(s) -
Hernández Estela,
González Salvador,
González Ernesto
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1998)23:3<167::aid-lsm6>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - lidocaine , medicine , topical anesthetic , anesthesia , topical anesthesia , pain sensation , prilocaine , local anesthesia , surgery
Background and Objective: Current techniques for assessing local anesthetics (e.g., pin‐prick test) cannot elicit a specific afferent activity without contamination from mechanosensitive receptors. This study was aimed to validate the use of non‐scarring laser pulses as a reproducible method to assess effectiveness of topical anesthetics by comparing EMLA 5% cream and 40% lidocaine ointment. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Thirty‐two evaluations per compound were achieved in a total of eight healthy subjects. Non‐scarring pulses from a 585 nm Pulsed‐dye laser and a double‐frequency Nd:YAG laser were investigated as pain inducers and the results were statistically analyzed by using a Student t ‐test. Results Discrimination of anesthesia was better assessed with the 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser. Anesthesia obtained by EMLA 5% cream was significantly higher than for 40% lidocaine ointment ( P <0.0001). For EMLA cream, the number of evaluations with complete anesthesia was twice as much as for 40% lidocaine. Conclusions Non‐scarring laser pulses are reliable and reproductive pain inducers for assessing topical anesthetics showing a low intra‐individual variation. This technique demonstrated that EMLA 5% cream is significantly more effective than 40% lidocaine ointment. Lasers Surg. Med. 23:167–171, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.