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Evidence summaries

Lidocaine/Prilocaine Cream as a Local Anaesthetic for Curettage of Molluscum Contagiosum Lesions

Lidocaine/prilocaine cream applied for less than 60 minutes appears to be an effective local anaesthetic before curettage of molluscum contagiosum lesions. Level of evidence: "B"

Eighty-three 4- to 12-year-old children, scheduled for curettage of at least five molluscum contagiosum lesions, were randomly allocated to receive lidocaine/prilocaine (EMLA) cream (n = 58) or placebo cream (n = 25), applied 15, 30, or 60 minutes before treatment 1. Pain was assessed in a double-blind fashion by the children and the physician as none, slight, moderate, or severe. In addition, the children rated the pain on a visual analogue scale. EMLA cream effectively prevented pain after all three application times (p < 0.01). No significant difference in pain was observed among the 15-, 30-, and 60-minute EMLA-treated groups, but the proportion of children verbally reporting no pain increased from 36% in the 15-minute group to 61% in the 60-minute group. In the placebo group, only one of 24 children (4%) reported no pain.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by imprecise results (few patients and wide confidence intervals).

References

  • de Waard-van der Spek FB, Oranje AP, Lillieborg S, Hop WC, Stolz E. Treatment of molluscum contagiosum using a lidocaine/prilocaine cream (EMLA) for analgesia. J Am Acad Dermatol 1990 Oct;23(4 Pt 1):685-8. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords