title: Local anaesthetic: does it really reduce the pain of insertion of all sizes of venous cannula?
abstract: A recent study performed in this department showed that a subcutaneous injection of local anaesthetic was significantly less painful than the insertion of a 22-gauge venous cannula. However, our colleagues remained sceptical that local anaesthetic infiltration would eliminate the pain of cannulation. Consequently a further study was undertaken to compare the pain of cannulation with and without the use of local anaesthetic. The results show that pain of cannulation is significantly (p < 0.003) reduced after subcutaneous infiltration with 1% lignocaine when compared to cannulation without local infiltration. Persistent discomfort at the site of cannulation was eliminated by the use of local anaesthetic.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Anaesthesia, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham.
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Langham
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D002406:Catheterization, Peripheral / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D008012:Lidocaine