6. Topical LA versus placebo or no treatment (4 studies).
| Lignocaine alone (delivered as spray) | ||||
| Study | Outcome | Treatment | Comparator | Results |
| LA | No treatment | |||
| Elhakim 1993* | Pain (presence or absence) 15 minutes | 2/20 | 15/20 | P < 0.001 (Fisher's exact test) |
| Pain (presence or absence) 30 minutes | 1/20 | 11/20 | P < 0.001 (Fisher's exact test) | |
| Pain (presence or absence) 60 minutes | 2/20 | 9/20 | P = 0.03 (Fisher's exact test) | |
| Bleeding | ‐ | ‐ | "There was no early postoperative adverse effects in all groups except for a greater incidence of prolonged postoperative blood oozing in the group C [no treatment] associated with crying." No summary statistics reported | |
| Bupivacaine plus adrenaline (delivered on a dental swab) | ||||
| Study | Outcome | Treatment | Comparator | Results |
| LA | Placebo | |||
| Andrzejowski 2002*+ | Pain (4‐category scale) 15 minutes postoperatively | Median 1.5 (1 to 2 IQR) n = 58 | Median 1 (1 to 3 IQR) n = 62 | P = 0.66 (Mann Whitney U Test) |
| Pain (4‐category scale) 30 minutes postoperatively | Median 1 (0 to 2 IQR) n = 58 | Median 1 (0 to 2 IQR) n = 62 | P = 0.46 (Mann Whitney U Test) | |
| Bleeding at 15 and 30 minutes | ‐ | ‐ | "There was no difference in degree of bleeding between the groups. The average of the nurse's subjective assessment of bleeding was 'mild' in both groups at 15 min and 'none' at 30 min" | |
| Gazal 2004*+ | Distress (5‐category faces scale) postoperatively | Mean 1.28 (1.31 sd) n = 68 | Mean 1.56 (1.20 sd) n = 67 | ‐0.28 (95% CI ‐0.71 to 0.15) P = 0.19 (t‐Test) |
| Distress (5‐category faces scale) 15 minutes postoperatively | Mean 1.90 (1.49 sd) n = 68 | Mean 1.96 (1.33 sd) n = 67 | ‐0.06 (95% CI ‐0.54 to 0.42) P = 0.81 (t‐Test) | |
| Quirke 2005 | Pain (TPPPS) 5 minutes postoperatively | Median 0 (0 to 7 Range) n = 24 | Median 0 (0 to 7 Range) n = 24 | "There was no significant difference in the individual maximum pain scores between the two groups (Mann Whitney U Test P > 0.05)" |
| Pain (TPPPS) 10 minutes postoperatively | Median 1 (0 to 8 Range) n = 24 | Median 0 (0 to 7 Range) n = 24 | ‐ | |
| Pain (TPPPS) 15minutes postoperatively | Median 0 (0 to 7 Range) n = 24 | Median 0 (0 to 7 Range) n = 24 | ‐ | |
| Pain (TPPPS) 30 minutes postoperatively | Median 1 (0 to 7 Range) n = 24 | Median 0 (0 to 5 Range) n = 24 | ‐ | |
| Pain (TPPPS) combined over all 4 time points | Median 1.5 (0 to 29 Range) n = 24 | Median 1 (0 to 25 Range) n = 24 | "…no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05)" | |
CI = confidence interval. IQR = interquartile range. LA = local anaesthetic. n = number. P = P value. SD = standard deviation. +studies where supplementary analgesics were given. *re‐analysis of reported data. TPPPS = Toddler Preschooler‐Postoperative Pain Scale.