Use of Topical Application of Lidocaine-Prilocaine Cream to Reduce Injection-Site Pain of Depot Antipsychotics

This study took place in Israel and examined the use of a local topical anesthetic cream to ameliorate the pain at the injection site caused by depot antipsychotic medications. Fifteen consecutive outpatients who had schizophrenia and who were under treatment with depot antipsychotic medications were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. The patients received either lidocaine-prilocaine cream or a placebo one hour before the injection. The degree of pain at the injection site was quantified by the patients' use of a visual analogue scale five minutes after the injection. The application of the lidocaine-prilocaine cream led to a significant reduction of pain compared with the placebo.