Topical Brimonidine as an Effective Adjuvant to Local Anesthetics for Post Treatment Erythema and Pain Reduction.

Abstract

BackgroundThere are few pharmacologic options to reduce laser-associated post treatment erythema and to extend topical anesthesia duration. To improve the tolerability of painful laser treatment, dermatologists should encourage development of a novel adjuvant agent to topical lidocaine cream.ObjectiveTo report the efficacy and safety of a combination of topical brimonidine and anesthetic cream as an aid for post treatment erythema and pain.MethodsA total of 15 Korean subjects were randomized to receive a split-face application of a mixture of brimonidine and anesthetics on one side and only anesthetics on the other side of the face for anesthesia. After non-ablative fractional full-face skin resurfacing, Clinician's Erythema Assessment, erythema index, and visual analogue scale were assessed at four time points: immediately after resurfacing, 30 minutes after, 60 minutes after, and 1 day after.ResultsA combination of brimonidine and anesthetics significantly lowered post treatment erythema until 60 minutes after the laser procedure. Furthermore, patients reported significantly lower post-procedural pain from the side of their face that received the mixture of anesthetics and brimonidine than they did for the side that only received anesthetics.ConclusionTopical brimonidine can be used as an effective adjuvant agent to lidocaine-based topical anesthetics.