Efficacy of topical 1% lidocaine in the symptomatic treatment of pain associated with oral mucosal trauma or minor oral aphthous ulcer: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, single-dose study.

AIMS: To determine the efficacy in pain reduction of a topical 1% lidocaine compared to a placebo cream in patients with oral mucosal lesions due to trauma or minor oral aphthous ulcer.

METHODS: The design was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, six-center trial on 59 patients. Pain intensity and relief were measured using a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). One-tailed Student t test and ANOVA analyses were used for statistical analyses.

RESULTS: Independent of the pain origin (oral mucosal trauma or minor oral aphthous ulcer), the application of the 1% lidocaine cream led to a mean reduction in VAS pain intensity of 29.4 mm ± 17.0, which was significantly greater than the decrease obtained with the placebo cream. Analysis showed a statistically significant efficacy of the 1% lidocaine cream (P = .0003). Its efficacy was not related to the type of lesion, and no adverse drug reaction, either local or systemic, was reported by any of the patients.

CONCLUSION: A significant reduction in pain intensity occurred after application of 1% lidocaine cream and was significantly greater than that with the placebo cream. Taking into account the study's limitations, this product seems safe to use.