title: Ice Reduces Needle-Stick Pain Associated With Local Anesthetic Injection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Local anesthetic injections are widely used in the emergency department for different purposes. Pain management for such injections is of great importance to both patients and the healthcare system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our study aimed to determine the effectiveness and safety of cryotherapy in patients receiving local anesthetic injections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects who presented with superficial lacerations were randomly assigned to 2 groups, the first group received ice packing prior to injection and the second did not. The pain severity, length and depth of the laceration, and the other necessary information before and after the pain-reducing intervention were measured, documented, and compared at the end of the study. Pain scores were measured using a numerical rating scale before and after the procedure, and the differences were compared using a t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety subjects were enrolled in the study, 45 in each group. There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups in terms of baseline preoperative and operative characteristics (P > 0.05). The pain scores in the cryotherapy group were significantly lower before and after the procedure (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups for wound infection (P = 0.783).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cooling the injection site prior to local anesthetic injection is an effective and inexpensive method to reduce the pain and discomfort caused by the injection.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mahshidfar
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Salimeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheraghi Shevi
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hosseini
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kasnavieh
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Firoozgar Hospital, Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rezai
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zavereh
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Firoozgar Hospital, Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mosaddegh
keywords: Cryotherapy; Ice; Local Anesthetic Injection; Pain Management; Wound