Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40055583›Full record

SynthesisBMC anesthesiology2025

Local analgesia for the relief of pain in children undergoing venipuncture and intravenous cannulation: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Liping Zhao, Ping Qi, Xue Wang, Xiaolei Su, Limei Liao

Abstract readSystematic ReviewNetwork Meta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC anesthesiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Oral food challenges in FPIES: A narrative review and proposals for emergency and home-based management of acute FPIES reaction.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2026
    Review
  3. Impact of Anesthetic Cream and Vibration on Injection Pain in Lymphedema.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Liping ZhaoDepartment of Pediatric Nursing, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, PR China.
Ping QiDepartment of Pediatric Nursing, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, PR China.
Xue WangDepartment of Pediatric Nursing, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, PR China.
Xiaolei SuDepartment of Pediatric Nursing, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, PR China.
Limei LiaoUniversity of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No.4, Section 2, North Construction Road, Chenghua District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610054, PR China. limeiliao@sina.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVenipuncture and intravenous cannulation are common procedures in hospitals that often cause pain, particularly in children. Despite the availability of various local analgesia methods to alleviate needle-associated pain, the most effective approach remains unknown. The objective of this study is to compare and rank the efficacy of different local analgesia methods in reducing pain in children undergoing venipuncture and intravenous cannulation.

methodSix databases including PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched from January 1,1990 to December 1,2024. The primary outcome is the self-reported pain. We assessed the certainty of the body of evidence from the NMA for the primary outcome based on CINeMA.

result40 RCTs consisting of 4481 children and 9 local analgesia methods were included in the analysis. Results showed that vapocoolant spray was no more effective than placebo or routine care in reducing needle-associated pain in children. Other interventions including EMLA cream, lidocaine cream, lidocaine iontophoresis, amethocaine, needle-free lidocaine injection system, EMLA patch, lidocaine/tetracaine heating patch and Buzzy produced greater pain reduction in children compared to placebo and routine care. Amethocaine was the most effective local analgesia method with the probability of 57.6% being the best, followed by Buzzy and lidocaine iontophoresis with the probability of 17.0% and 8.4%, respectively.

conclusionMost local analgesia methods were effective in relieving pain in children undergoing venipuncture and intravenous cannulation except vapocoolant spray which did not show greater pain reduction than placebo or routine care. Amethocaine, Buzzy and lidocaine iontophoresis are the top 3 local analgesia methods to relieve pain in children undergoing venipuncture and intravenous cannulation. However, due to the limited number of direct comparisons, interpretation of some results should be made with caution.

Indexed as

Anesthetics, LocalCatheterization, PeripheralPainPain ManagementPhlebotomyChildHumansLidocaineRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAnesthetics, LocalLidocaineChildrenIntravenous cannulationLocal analgesiaPainVenipuncture

Identifiers

PMID40055583
PMCPMC11887248

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.