The status of rapid transdermal delivery of local anesthetic by physical methods

Abstract

With the administration of lidocaine,the discomfort caused by injection is counterproductive to the effect of pain relief.Rapid local transdermal anesthetic is desirable to avoid the pain caused by invasive procedures.Transdermal lidocaine products such as EMLA(R)cream and Lidoderm,Lidosite,SonoPrepTM,and SyneraTM are commercially available.The physical methods are used in these products.They could shorten the onset time and relief the pain at certain extent.This review summarizes mechanisms and applications of rapid transdermal delivery of local anesthetic by physical methods. Key words: Transdermal drug delivery system ; Local anesthetic:Lidocaine ; Iontophoresis ; Sonophoresis ;