Local anesthesia for cryosurgery on the cervix

Forty-five patients were evaluated in a prospective, randomized study to determine the effectiveness of a local injection of lidocaine in reducing pain during cervical cryosurgery. Study patients received a submucosal cervical injection of 1% lidocaine with a 1:100,000 dilution of epinephrine. Control patients did not receive an injection. Both groups received a single dose of naproxen sodium or ketoprofen prior to the procedure. The patient and the observing nurse recorded the pain experienced with a visual analog scale (VAS). Nurse and patient response for the control and study groups showed a high correlation (r = .573 and P < .01, r = .673 and P < .001, respectively). The mean VAS score recorded for the 26 control patients was 4.27, significantly greater than the mean score for the 19 study patients, 1.16 (P < .001). These findings indicate that a submucosal local injection of lidocaine with epinephrine is effective in reducing pain during cervical cryosurgery.