Radiology, Vol 187, 503-505, Copyright © 1993 by Radiological Society of North America
Preoperative needle localization in the breast: utility of local anesthesia
HE Reynolds, VP Jackson and BS Musick
Department of Radiology, Indiana University Hospital, Indianapolis 46202.
Eighty-nine consecutive patients undergoing needle localization at two
facilities were alternately assigned to "local-anesthesia" (n = 46) and
"no-local-anesthesia" (n = 43) groups. Those in the local-anesthesia group
received 1-2 mL lidocaine hydrochloride 1% subcutaneously at the expected
site of insertion of the localizing needle. All patients were asked to rate
the level of pain they experienced from the procedure as a whole by using a
10-cm horizontal visual analog pain scale. Data about patient age,
menopausal and menstrual status, average daily caffeine intake, and whether
the patients considered mammography to be a painful procedure were
collected. Patients who did not receive local anesthesia had a lower mean
pain score (2.52) than those who did (3.27, P = .18). Premenopausal
patients in the second half of their menstrual cycle at the time of the
procedure had a significantly higher pain score than those in the first
half (3.54 vs. 1.70, P = .05). Patients who considered mammography a
painful procedure reported a higher level of pain than those who did not
(3.79 vs 2.38, P = .012). There was no relationship between age, caffeine
intake, or menopausal status and pain experienced.
