Pain assessment by children and adolescents during intraosseous anaesthesia using a computerized system (QuickSleeper).
BACKGROUND
Intraosseous (IO) anaesthesia has been shown to be effective in children. However, the pain associated with anaesthetic injections, and its acceptance by children, have never been studied.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the pain associated with the IO injection of 4% articaine with 1 : 200 000 epinephrine using the computerized QuickSleeper' system in a population of children and adolescents.


METHODS
IO anaesthesia was performed on patients aged 10.4 +/- 2.6 years of age. The patients assessed their pain on a faces pain scale (FPS) and on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The operators were also asked to assess signs of patient pain/discomfort.


RESULTS
No pain or mild discomfort was reported by, respectively, 81.8% (FPS) and 83.9% (VAS) of the patients. Some 58.9% of children with previous experience of dental anaesthesia reported that computerized IO anaesthesia was more comfortable than traditional infiltration methods. Operators noted signs of discomfort during penetration and injection in 18.3% and 25.3% of the patients, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that the majority of children reported no pain or mild pain when anaesthetic was administered by computerized needle rotation and solution deposition. This technique holds promise for use by trained paediatric dentists.
Sixou
Jean-Louis
JL
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, UFR d'Odontologie de l'Université de Rennes 1 and CHU de Rennes, 35043 Rennes Cedex, France. jean-louis.sixou@univ-rennes1.fr
Marie-Cousin
Alexia
A
Huet
Adeline
A
Hingant
Bernard
B
Robert
Jean-Claude
JC
D000293:Adolescent; D000539:Alveolar Process; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002355:Carticaine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible; D008437:Maxilla; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation
D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D004338:Drug Combinations; D002355:Carticaine; D004837:Epinephrine