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Topical benzydamine cream and the relief of pressure pain
W M Prentice1, L J Roth, P Kelly
1Marie Curie Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Wendy.Prentice@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk
Objective:
To determine whether topical benzydamine hydrochloride 3% cream is more effective than placebo in reducing pain related to pressure areas in palliative care patients.
Design:
Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Setting:
Three specialist palliative care units in the north of England, with local ethical committee approval for all sites.
Subjects:
Hospice in-patients with pain related to pressure areas.
Interventions:
A single application of either benzydamine hydrochloride 3% cream or placebo cream to the painful pressure area.
Main Outcome Measures:
Pain assessed using 100 mm VAS, an 11-point numerical pain score and a five-point pain relief score.
Results:
There was no statistically significant difference between topical benzydamine hydrochloride 3% cream and placebo cream in reducing pain related to pressure areas in palliative care patients.
Conclusions:
This study does not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the two treatments. However the study does provide reliable information with respect to the use of different pain measurement tools in late-stage palliative patients. It also provides information regarding the baseline characteristics of this group of patients which may be useful in the planning of any future similar studies.
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