EMLA reduces pain in neonatal lumbar puncture.(Journal Watch: Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)(eutectic mixture of local anesthetics )

EMLA reduces pain in neonatal lumbar puncture * Operating on the incorrect premise that neonates do not feel pain, clinicians have performed lumbar punctures without analgesia in newborns for many years, and the practice remains standard in many NICUs. These researchers prospectively compared the topical anesthetic cream EMLA, a mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine hydrochloride, with placebo for pain reduction in 60 newborns undergoing diagnostic lumbar puncture in a NICU. All infants had an estimated gestational age of at least 34 weeks (mean, 37 weeks). Physiologic measures of heart rate and oxygen saturation were taken, and behavioral responses were measured using the Facial …