1Professor, Deptt. of Anaesthesia, J.N.M.C. and A.V.B.R.H. Wardha
2M.D. Junior Resident, Deptt. of Anaesthesia, J.N.M.C., A.V.B.R.H. Wardha
3DNBSS Senior Resident, Deptt. of Critical Care Medicine, Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Science, Mumbai
Venous cannulation, the most commonly performed invasive procedure in hospital patients, causes pain and discomfort and is associated with high incidences of vasovagal reactions and pressor responses.
The study aims at evaluation of the efficacy of EMLA (eutectic mixture of local anaesthetic) cream to produce dermal analgesia for venous cannulation.
60 patients were selected randomly of either gender and divided into two groups of 30 patients each. In group-E EMLA cream was applied and in group-P placebo cream was applied at the site of intravenous cannulation one hour prior. Pain following intravenous cannulation was assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
The mean VAS score among the patients who were applied with EMLA cream was less(0.467±0.5074), when compared with the mean VAS pain score in the patients who were applied with placebo ointment (4.467±0.5074) No side effect was reported.
Application of EMLA cream is effective to produce dermal analgesia in response to venous cannulation.
Dermal analgesia, EMLA cream, Venous cannulation
