The Journal of dermatologic surgery and oncology
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J Dermatol Surg Oncol · Mar 1993
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialLess painful alternatives for local anesthesia.
Infiltration of commonly used local anesthetics is painful. It has been speculated that the pain on infiltration is a direct consequence of the acidity of the anesthetic solution. ⋯ The pH values of bacteriostatic saline solution with epinephrine 1:300,000 and lidocaine with epinephrine diluted with bacteriostatic saline solution are 5.3 and 4.2, respectively. Both were found to be less painful than 1% lidocaine with epinephrine with sodium bicarbonate 84 meq/mL, which had a pH of 7.4. It is unlikely that the pain of infiltration is a simple function of the pH of the anesthetic solution.