A Prospective Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing The Efficacy Of Topical Local Anaesthetic Spray With Vapocoolant Versus Emla Cream For Pain Alleviation In Infants During Vaccination

Abstract

Background and objectives Pain during immunization is a major cause of concern as it is the most common iatrogenic source of distress. Positive impact of immunization on disease prevention and control is immense. Despite of having the best of medical facilities and advancements in the field of paediatrics we still consider immunization pain as something which is inevitable, which every infant has to go through. All children have a pain memory, and have the ability to anticipate painful procedures which may have effects on subsequent pain perception and response. All these factors lead to vaccine dropouts and increased non-compliance on the part of children themselves, parents and strikingly the provider too. There is a need for evidence-based study on usage of topical anaesthetic agents to alleviate the pain during vaccination in the subset of population of this region. The purpose of this study was to compare the prospective outcomes of using local anaesthetic spray and EMLA cream and encourage the usage of topical anaesthetics during immunization.