This was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial performed in an urban, academic pediatric emergency department with an annual census of 67,000 patients. Children 6-12 years old for whom IN midazolam was ordered were eligible for enrollment. Patients were randomly assigned an identical intranasal medication (4% Lidocaine or 0.9% saline). Patients were administered the study drug followed by IN midazolam. Patients then assigned a pain score for midazolam administration using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating scale. The primary endpoint of pain score was analyzed with a two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
The purpose of this study was to establish whether premedication with topical lidocaine would reduce the pain associated with IN midazolam administration in children. The study was designed to be a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial performed in an urban, academic pediatric emergency department.