Topical Lidocaine Anesthesia for Nasopharyngeal Sampling

Introduction: Nasopharyngeal sampling is widely used in the diagnosis of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of topical lidocaine application for nasopharyngeal sampling, on pain perception, the comfort of the patients, and the application difficulty for healthcare staff. Methods: This study is a prospective randomized placebo-controlled study conducted with 100 healthy volunteers (50 participants in Lidocaine group and 50 participants in Placebo group). Two ml of a solution containing 10 mg/ml of lidocaine was applied to each nostril of the participants in the Lidocaine group, and the same dose of 0.9% NaCl to the Placebo group. Investigators performed two repeated sampling one hour apart. The first sampling was performed before intervention, and the second was performed five-minutes after intervention. Investigators compared the changes in pain intensity and discomfort intensity using two numerical rating scales, the frequency of undesirable reactions, and the judgment of the practitioner staff about the sampling procedure between first and second sampling.