Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations
Background Topical anesthetics, such as eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream, can be applied to reduce pain before minor procedure. This trial evaluated EMLA as pretreatment for facial lacerations and compared pain, discomfort and overall satisfaction. Methods This trial inc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Archives of Plastic Surgery |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.5999/aps.2015.42.1.28 |
| _version_ | 1798037728085934080 |
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| author | Sung Woo Park Tae Suk Oh Jong Woo Choi Jin Sup Eom Joon Pio Hong Kyung S Koh Taik Jong Lee Eun Key Kim |
| author_facet | Sung Woo Park Tae Suk Oh Jong Woo Choi Jin Sup Eom Joon Pio Hong Kyung S Koh Taik Jong Lee Eun Key Kim |
| author_sort | Sung Woo Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Topical anesthetics, such as eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream, can be applied to reduce pain before minor procedure. This trial evaluated EMLA as pretreatment for facial lacerations and compared pain, discomfort and overall satisfaction.
Methods This trial included consecutive emergency department patients ≥16 years of age who presented with simple facial lacerations. At triage, lacerations were allotted to either the routine processing group or EMLA pretreatment group according to date of admission. Initially, the emergency department doctors inspected each laceration, which were dressed with saline-soaked gauze. In the pretreatment group, EMLA cream was applied during wound inspection. The plastic surgeon then completed primary closure following the local injection of an anesthetic. After the procedure, all patients were given a questionnaire assessing pain using the 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) ("no pain" to "worst pain"). All questionnaires were collected by the emergency department nurse before discharge.
Results Fifty patients were included in the routine processing group, and fifty patients were included in the EMLA pretreatment group. Median age was 39.9 years, 66% were male, and the average laceration was 2.67 cm in length. The EMLA pretreatment group reported lower pain scores in comparison with the routine processing group (2.4 vs. 4.5 on VAS, P<0.05), and lower discomfort scores during the procedure (2.0 vs. 3.3, P=0.60). Overall satisfaction was significantly higher in the EMLA pretreatment group (7.8 vs. 6.1, P<0.05).
Conclusions Pretreating facial lacerations with EMLA topical cream aids patients by reducing pain and further enhancing overall satisfaction during laceration treatment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:30:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b5fb4adbd144de4911834a9f6933e31 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2234-6163 2234-6171 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:30:30Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Archives of Plastic Surgery |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b5fb4adbd144de4911834a9f6933e312022-12-22T04:02:01ZengThieme Medical Publishers, Inc.Archives of Plastic Surgery2234-61632234-61712015-01-014201283310.5999/aps.2015.42.1.28500Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial LacerationsSung Woo Park0Tae Suk Oh1Jong Woo Choi2Jin Sup Eom3Joon Pio Hong4Kyung S Koh5Taik Jong Lee6Eun Key Kim7Department of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaBackground Topical anesthetics, such as eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream, can be applied to reduce pain before minor procedure. This trial evaluated EMLA as pretreatment for facial lacerations and compared pain, discomfort and overall satisfaction. Methods This trial included consecutive emergency department patients ≥16 years of age who presented with simple facial lacerations. At triage, lacerations were allotted to either the routine processing group or EMLA pretreatment group according to date of admission. Initially, the emergency department doctors inspected each laceration, which were dressed with saline-soaked gauze. In the pretreatment group, EMLA cream was applied during wound inspection. The plastic surgeon then completed primary closure following the local injection of an anesthetic. After the procedure, all patients were given a questionnaire assessing pain using the 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) ("no pain" to "worst pain"). All questionnaires were collected by the emergency department nurse before discharge. Results Fifty patients were included in the routine processing group, and fifty patients were included in the EMLA pretreatment group. Median age was 39.9 years, 66% were male, and the average laceration was 2.67 cm in length. The EMLA pretreatment group reported lower pain scores in comparison with the routine processing group (2.4 vs. 4.5 on VAS, P<0.05), and lower discomfort scores during the procedure (2.0 vs. 3.3, P=0.60). Overall satisfaction was significantly higher in the EMLA pretreatment group (7.8 vs. 6.1, P<0.05). Conclusions Pretreating facial lacerations with EMLA topical cream aids patients by reducing pain and further enhancing overall satisfaction during laceration treatment.http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.5999/aps.2015.42.1.28emlalacerationsanesthetics, local |
| spellingShingle | Sung Woo Park Tae Suk Oh Jong Woo Choi Jin Sup Eom Joon Pio Hong Kyung S Koh Taik Jong Lee Eun Key Kim Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations Archives of Plastic Surgery emla lacerations anesthetics, local |
| title | Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations |
| title_full | Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations |
| title_fullStr | Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations |
| title_short | Topical EMLA Cream as a Pretreatment for Facial Lacerations |
| title_sort | topical emla cream as a pretreatment for facial lacerations |
| topic | emla lacerations anesthetics, local |
| url | http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.5999/aps.2015.42.1.28 |
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