Clinical trial for safety evaluation of hyaluronidase as diffusion enhancing adjuvant for infiltration analgesia of skin with lidocaine.

Author(s): Wohlrab J, Finke R, Franke WG, Wohlrab A.

Affiliation(s): Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Kromayer-Strasse 5, D-06097 Halle (Saale), Germany. johannes.wohlrab@medizin.uni-halle.de

Publication date & source: 2012, Dermatol Surg. , 38(1):91-6

BACKGROUND: Infiltration anesthesia of the skin is an analgesic procedure often practiced before minor surgical interventions or punctures. The addition of hyaluronidase is a possible option to improve the effectiveness of the local anesthetic with respect to expansion of effect. OBJECTIVE: To validate the safety of intracutaneous application of hyaluronidase as a lidocaine adjuvant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The influence of adjuvant hyaluronidase on wound healing was investigated using the suction blister method in a prospective, single-center, placebo-controlled, double-blind, intraindividual comparison study with 20 participants. The target parameters were defined as the time of normalization of transepidermal water loss, hemovascular perfusion, and complete macroscopic epithelization of the wound. RESULTS: No evidence was found that adjuvant application of hyaluronidase retards wound healing. CONCLUSION: The addition of hyaluronidase to lidocaine in intracutaneous infiltration analgesia does not lead to retardation of wound healing, and no additional relevant risks were observed.