Abstract Background Despite their growing popularity of aesthetic procedures, procedural pain remains a major concern among patients. Topical numbing cream and local anaesthetic injection are widely used to manage discomfort and reduce pain; however, their relative effectiveness in cannula-based facial treatments remains a subject of ongoing debate. Objectives To compare the anaesthetic efficacy of BLT cream (benzocaine 20%, lidocaine 10%, tetracaine 4%) and 1% lidocaine local injection in patients undergoing cannula-based facial aesthetic treatments. Methods Retrospectively, 29 females underwent two separate treatment sessions, each using a different anaesthetic method. Pain intensity was assessed using a self-reported numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), and patient were asked to indicate their preferred method upon completion of the second treatment session. Mean pain scores were compared using paired samples t-test, and patient preference was analysed using frequency and percentage distributions. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Of the 29 patients enrolled, 28 patients were included in the final analysis. The mean pain score with BLT cream was 5.07±0.41 (95% CI: 4.24-5.90), compared to 3.04±0.32 (95% CI: 2.38-3.69) with 1% lidocaine injection. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0001), with a mean difference of 2.03. Most patients reported a preference for 1% lidocaine injection over topical cream for future treatments. Conclusions In this preliminary study, local injection of 1% lidocaine provides significantly better pain control than BLT cream during cannula-based facial treatments, with higher patient preference. Injectable anaesthesia may be a more effective option for enhancing patient comfort in aesthetic practice.
Looi et al. (Sat,) studied this question.