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EMLA ® does not permit pain‐free retrobulbar injection *
Author(s) -
Kuvaki̇ B.,
Gökmen N.,
Günenç F.,
Ceyhan Kara H.,
Üzümlü H.,
Özden G.,
Söylev M.,
Gökel E.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1034/j.1399-6576.2003.00125.x
Subject(s) - medicine , prilocaine , anesthesia , lidocaine , interquartile range , local anesthetic , surgery , local anaesthetic , mepivacaine , local anesthesia , visual analogue scale
Background: Retrobulbar injection can be associated with significant pain, due to both needle insertion and deposition of the local anaesthetic solution. The local anaesthetic cream EMLA ® (eutectic mixture of local anaesthetics) which contains a mixture of lignocaine and prilocaine has been shown to reduce the pain associated with skin puncture. The efficacy of EMLA ® in alleviating the pain of retrobulbar injection for cataract surgery was assessed in this study. Methods: In this, randomised double‐blind study, EMLA ® ( n = 53) or lignocaine 5% ointment ( n = 50) was administered to the inferior orbital margin at least 45 min before retrobulbar block in 103 patients. Pain assessed during retrobulbar block was marked subjectively by the patient on a 10‐point numerical rating scale. Results: Median verbal pain scores were 3.0 with an interquartile range of 1.5–6.5 in the control group and 3.50 with an interquartile range of 2.0–6.0 in the EMLA ® group ( P = 0.67). There was no significant difference between the EMLA ® group and the lignocaine ointment group according to this pain assessment. Conclusion: EMLA ® does not permit pain‐free retrobulbar injection.