Can J Ophthalmol
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effect of a topical anesthetic cream (EMLA) in reducing pain caused by infiltration of local anesthetic in eyelid surgery.
EMLA (eutectic mixture of local anesthetics) cream is a topical formulation of a mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine. It has been used to achieve local analgesia after application under an occlusive dressing. We carried out a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial to assess the effect of 5% EMLA (25 mg/mL of lidocaine and of prilocaine) in reducing the pain caused by infiltration of local anesthetic in eyelid surgery. ⋯ Clinical significance was defined as a difference in pain scores of 3 or more between EMLA and placebo. The mean pain scores for EMLA and placebo were 3.1 and 4.0 respectively, a nonsignificant difference. The EMLA preparation was found not to be clinically effective in reducing pain caused by infiltration of local anesthetic in eyelid surgery.
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Colour flow Doppler ultrasonography is a relatively new technique in which colour-encoded representations of flowing blood are imposed over a conventional grey-scale ultrasound image. This allows interrogation of a relatively large volume of tissue to determine the presence and direction of blood flow. ⋯ The technique can also be used to evaluate ocular membranes and masses. Colour flow Doppler imaging promises to be an important advance in ophthalmic ultrasonography.