The anaesthetic effectiveness of LAT gel on laceration in a paediatric population

Key words: LAT gel, Lacerations, Local anesthesia

Laceration’s local anesthesia is obtained by perlesional injections of lidocaine, which are painful their self. Ready-made anesthetic gel that can be put directly on the laceration with no pain and that have anesthetic and hemostatic power are available. Between these, LAT gel (lidocaine 4%, adrenaline 0,05%, tetracaine 0,5%) was found to be safe and effective. We tested safety and efficacy of LAT gel in all children with skin lacerations, avoiding mucosa, that came at the Emergency Department of Burlo Garofolo in Trieste. The suture was performed between 30 and 40 minutes after gel’s application. We recorded children, parents and operator’s pain, the need of supplemental anesthesia and the use of distraction’s techniques. We enrolled 77 children, of which 1 children was excluded because LAT gel was left on the laceration only for 10 minutes. In the other children LAT gel’s effectiveness was very high: parent and operator’s pain was VAS =2,3 and children’s pain VAS=2,7. In our cases’ record, the 93.5% of patients don’t need injective anesthesia in skin lacerations (71/76). Only 5 patients need supplemental anesthesia: 2 had heel’s lacerations, 1 finger’s laceration and the last 2 cases reported a high VAS score during suture (although the same VAS score was reported after injective anesthesia). We can conclude that LAT gel is efficacy and safe in topical anesthesia in face, scalp, legs and harms’ lacerations; whereas its efficacy seems to be lower in sole and fingers’ lacerations.