Warming a shot may significantly reduce injection pain

Warming local anesthetics prior to administering shots leads to a “clinically meaningful reduction in pain” of the injection, according to a study published online in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

“Warming an injection is a cost-free step that emergency physicians can take to reduce pain from a shot,” lead study author Anna Taddio, PhD, of the University of Toronto in Canada stated in an American College of Emergency Physicians press release. “Patients often dread the sight of a needle, but doing something as simple as warming the injection to body temperature can make a painful part of an emergency department visit more tolerable.”

Anna Taddio

To determine the impact of warmed shots on injection pain, Taddio and colleagues reviewed 18 studies involving 831 patients who received local anesthetics that were warmed by a variety of methods including controlled water baths, baby food warmers, incubators and syringe warmers. The investigators found warming the injections led to a significant reduction in injection pain. This result occurred regardless of the injected amount, whether the anesthetic had been buffered, and whether the shot was administered subcutaneously or intradermally, according to the press release.

“Future research should examine the effects of warming local anesthetics for dental procedures and for procedures specifically involving children,” Taddio stated in the release. “This is an area where a small change may make a big difference for a patient.”

References:
Hogan, ME, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of warming local anesthetics on injection pain. Ann Emerg Med. Feb. 8, 2011. [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2010.12.001.
www.acep.org
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.

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