Abstract
Objective
This study was performed to compare the effects of a vapocoolant spray and a eutectic
mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream on reducing pain during intra-articular
(IA) injection of the shoulder.
Design
Double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Setting
University hospital.
Participants
Patients (N=63) who underwent IA injection of the shoulder joint were randomized into
the spray group, EMLA group, or placebo group.
Intervention
Placebo cream+vapocoolant spray (spray group), EMLA cream+placebo spray (EMLA group),
or placebo cream+placebo spray (placebo group) before IA injection.
Main Outcome Measures
A 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) for injection pain and 5-point Likert scales for
participant satisfaction and preference for repeated use were administered immediately
after IA injection.
Results
The VAS scores for pain during IA injection were 30.0 (95% CI, 19.7-41.2) in the spray
group, 50.0 (95% CI, 37.7-63.0) in the EMLA group, and 53.8 (95% CI, 41.6-65.0) in
the placebo group (F=6.403, P<.01). The spray group showed significantly better Likert scale scores than the placebo
group for participant satisfaction (P=.003) and preference for repeated use (P<.001).
Conclusions
Vapocoolant spray was effective in reducing pain during IA injection of the shoulder.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
EMLA (eutectic mixture of local anesthetics), HA (hyaluronic acid), IA (intra-articular), SPADI (Shoulder Pain and Disability Index), VAS (visual analog scale)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 19, 2020
Footnotes
Supported by the Soonchunhyang University Research Fund.
Clinical Trial Registration No.: NCT03484832.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
