title: Evaluation of local anaesthetic infiltration for cryosurgery of hand warts: a prospective comparative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The pain of cryosurgery for hand warts can lead to poor patient satisfaction and inadequate response to treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine if local anaesthetic infiltration using a 30-gauge needle prior to cryosurgery is acceptable to patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  20 consecutive patients were recruited over a 14-month period who attended a cryosurgery clinic and who had at least two warts between 5 and 10 mm in diameter on different parts of the hands. In each patient, two warts of approximately equal size were treated using standard cryosurgery techniques, one under local anaesthetic (LA) and the other without.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average pain score of cryosurgery without LA was more than twice the pain score of administering the LA with a 30-gauge needle (p < 0.0005). One out of 20 warts failed to clear in the LA-treated group and 2 out of 20 warts failed to clear in the non-LA-treated group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This research suggests that for the majority of patients with warts between five and ten millimetres in diameter, cryosurgery is significantly less painful when carried out under LA.
authors.affiliation: The Ashe Street Clinic, Tralee, Co Kerry, Ireland. info@asctralee.com.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buckley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003452:Cryosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014860:Warts / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local
keywords: Cryosurgery; Hand warts; Local anaesthetic; Pain; Primary health care