Painless venipuncture. A clinical trial of iontophoresis of lidocaine for venipuncture in blood donors.

Discomfort or frank pain at venipuncture may be a reason for abstaining from giving blood. In an attempt to offer a painless alternative, a method for iontophoretic application of local anaesthetics was developed. Its effectiveness in producing anaesthesia for venipuncture was tested in a double-blind trial in 47 blood donors. A positive result was obtained in 89%, as against 28% in the placebo group.