EMLA prevents pain during local anesthesia for cataract surgery.

In an observer blind study, the efficacy of lignocaine-prilocaine eutectic mixture was established in alleviating the pain of needle insertion during retrobulbar and periorbital tissues block in cataract surgery. Thirty-three patients were allocated randomly into two groups. Patients in group 1 (n = 17) received EMLA cream 60 min. prior to local anesthesia while those of group 2 (n = 16) were used as a control group. Pain was graded by the patients on a four-point verbal rating scale (VRS) as well as by an observer, unaware of the treatment patients received, on a 4-point scale. In both groups there were no differences in pain scores between patient's and observer's assessments. In EMLA group significantly (p < 0.05) less pain was registered during performance of the local anesthetic procedure. Our results demonstrate that the eutectic mixture may be very effective in reducing pain associated with locoregional procedures for eye surgery.