Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.]
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Direct comparison of EMLA versus lidocaine for pain control in Nd:YAG 1,064 nm laser hair removal.
Laser hair removal is an effective therapy for the treatment of hirsutism, hypertrichosis, and pseudofolliculitis barbae. Although side effects are uncommon, pain is described by most patients undergoing long-pulsed neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) 1,064 nm laser therapy. ⋯ Nd:YAG 1,064 nm laser hair removal is a painful procedure. Topical anesthetics have been proven to reduce pain for laser hair removal. There is no statistically significant difference between the two most commonly used topical anesthetics for pain control in laser hair removal. Therefore, cost and minimizing potential side effects should guide the physician in selecting the appropriate anesthetic.
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Significant differences observed in therapeutic trials in procedural dermatology are typically denoted by p values of less than .05. Alternatively, significance can be conveyed by use of confidence intervals. ⋯ Confidence intervals can complement p values as a means for explaining statistical significant differences. When differences are not statistically significant but are clinically significant and approach statistical significance, neither p values nor confidence intervals can definitively establish whether the observed trends are indicative of an underlying difference. In these cases, common in procedural dermatology, larger, better designed, randomized prospective trials are needed.