Topical glyceryl trinitrate and eutectic mixture of local anaesthetics in children. A randomised controlled trial on choice of site and ease of venous cannulation.

One hundred and four children aged between 1 and 11 years were studied in a double-blind randomised controlled trial of glyceryl trinitrate ointment versus placebo, when used in addition to standard eutectic mixture of local anaesthetics cream. Each child received glyceryl trinitrate ointment on one hand and placebo on the other, and thus acted as his/her own control. A group of 30 children who received only the eutectic mixture on both hands (60 measurements) was also studied. The choice of site and ease of cannulation was scored. Skin colour and venous dilatation under the eutectic mixture were scored on a visual analogue scale. The addition of topical glyceryl trinitrate ointment to the standard eutectic mixture positively affected venous dilatation (p less than 0.01), choice of cannulation site (p less than 0.001), and ease of cannulation (p less than 0.001) of topical anaesthetic-treated skin.