Reduction of pain following propofol injection using blood aspiration

ABSTRACT

A randomized, controlled, single-blinded study was carried out to see the effect of blood aspiration on reduction of propofol injection pain. Seventy-five patients were studied. They were divided into three categories, comparing the aspiration of 2ml of the patients' blood into the propofol syringe immediately before injection, and the addition of either normal saline 2ml, or lignocaine 20mg to the propofol before injection. The addition of blood was as effective as the addition of lignocaine in reducing the pain of injection, but significantly more effective than the addition of saline [P<0.001] in reducing propofol injection pain. Blood as well as lignocaine are more effective than saline in reducing pain of propofol injection