Topical Anesthetics for Intravenous Insertion in Children: A Randomized Equivalency Study

Abstract

ELA-Max, applied for 30 minutes before IV cannulation, has an anesthetic effectiveness similar to EMLA applied for 60 minutes. Some children rated IV insertion pain fairly high for both hands (eg, 60 on a 0- to 100-point scale) despite anesthetic treatment. Preprocedural anxiety may affect the perception and/or rating of pain. There were no differences between hands that were treated with EMLA or with ELA-Max for success of IV insertion.