TENS-LA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation versus local anaesthetic cream in alleviating the pain of local anaesthetic injections in adults - A Randomised Controlled Trial
IRAS ID
256620
Contact name
Rajshree Jayarajan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Minor surgical procedures are carried out under local anaesthesia which involves the injection of a numbing solution around the area to be operated upon to make the area numb. But for the patient involved, even a simple local anaesthetic procedure is associated with much anxiety. This is compounded by the process of local anaesthetic injection which involves not only the pain of the needle puncture, but the stinging sensation as the local anaesthetic is infiltrated into the site. Many methods of easing this pain has been used like using smaller gauge needles, slow infiltration and prior application of local anaesthetic creams.
There has been a lot of research conducted in dentistry which has shown the effectiveness of Transcutaneous Electronic Nerve Stimulation (TENS) as an anaesthetic agent. TENS is non invasive and requires only attachment of the pads around the site to provide a mild electric stimulation to prevent pain from being felt. Research results on this are available in the field of dentistry. But the research has not extended to other fields of surgery such as in minor local anaesthetic cases done in Plastic surgery, General surgery, or Dermatological surgery. This trial will be able to provide evidence regarding the efficacy of TENS as a local anaesthetic and its ability to alleviate or reduce the pain associated with local anaesthetic injection. The effectiveness will also be compared to that of local anaesthetic cream which is being used by some surgeons at present for the purpose. The study will be conducted in suitable patients listed for minor surgical procedure and assessment provided by patients on a visual scale is recorded by the investigator. The pulse rate and blood pressure are also recorded. The study is completed in the theatre itself and no follow up is required.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0027
Date of REC Opinion
8 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion