Vapocoolant Spray for Numbing Small Boils Before Incision and Drainage
Stopped early · Phase 4
Conditions studied: Abscess
In brief
Cutaneous abscesses (boils) are collections of pus or infection in the skin, and are a frequent reason for emergency department visits. The only proven cure for abscesses is cutting them open and allowing the infection to drain, but this procedure is often painful. Currently, the usual method of pain control is to inject a numbing medication (lidocaine) into the site, but this injection itself is often painful and sometimes does not offer full pain relief. Although there has been some research into the use of non-injected numbing agents as another option, no studies have looked at the use of numbing sprays (vapocoolant) in this context specifically. The hypothesis of this study is that numbing spray is as good as injected numbing medication at relieving pain in patients having small abscesses opened and drained. This theory will be tested by taking two groups of patients having small abscesses drained in the Emergency Department, and assigning one group to get a numbing injection, and the other to get a numbing spray. Their levels of pain and satisfaction will be recorded before, during, and after the procedure, and the two groups will be compared.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT01673061
- Run by
- Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
- People needed
- 21
- Starts
- 2012-08-01
- Expected to finish
- 2013-08-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2020-03-19
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Greater than or equal to 18 years old
- Able to consent
- Has cutaneous abscess less than or equal to 2 centimeters requiring incision and drainage in the Emergency Department
You may not qualify if…
- Less than 18 years old
- Unable to consent
- Pregnant or breastfeeding
- Prisoner or in police custody
- Known sensitivity to vapocoolant or lidocaine
- Cold hypersensitivity
- Chronic steroid use
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Diabetes
- HIV
- Malignancy
- Immunosuppressive state
- Sickle cell disease
- Sarcoidosis
- Abscess greater than 2 centimeters in any dimension
- Abscess requiring procedural sedation and analgesia for incision and drainage, or further intervention outside the Emergency Department
- Abscess located on the hands, feet, face, or perineal areas
- Pilonidal cyst
- hidradenitis suppurativa
- Not a good candidate per attending physician
Where it is running
- Albert Einstein Medical Center — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.