Topical anaesthesia in children: reducing the need for specialty referral

Abstract

We have found that the introduction of topical anaesthetic gel in ED has significantly reduced the number of children with wounds referred to specialty teams for general anaesthesia. This has important implications for patient safety and hospital resources.

Pro–con debate: intravenous vs inhalation induction of anesthesia in children

“…However, Ametop can cause local hyperemia that occasionally may be severe and cases of anaphylaxis have been recorded. LAT gel also shows promise: it is widely used in emergency departments as a part of management of wounds in children and effectively anesthetizes a child’s face or scalp before suturing an uncomplicated laceration within 30 min (7,8). Applying this mixture for reducing pain connected with vein cannulation in situations when very rapid topical anesthesia of the skin is required seems logical.…”