Lidocaine-prilocaine cream was more effective than placebo for pain during circumcision
Objective
To determine the efficacy and safety of lidocaine-prilocaine cream for reducing pain during circumcision in newborns.
Design
Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial with 24 hour follow up.
Setting
A teaching hospital in Ontario, Canada.
Patients
68 healthy white newborn babies (mean age 1.4 days) ≥ 37 weeks gestation and birth weight ≥ 2500 g undergoing circumcision. Infants with jaundice or methaemoglobinaemia, and those receiving methaemoglobin inducing, analgesic, or sedative drugs were excluded. 8 infants (12%) in the treatment group were excluded from the efficacy analysis because they were not treated under blind conditions.
Intervention
The infants were assigned to receive 5% lidocaine-prilocaine cream (1:1 mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine emulsified in water) (n=38) or placebo cream containing coconut oil (n=30). 1 ml of cream was drawn into a syringe. One …
