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Intramuscular injection of ceftriaxone sodium is called for in several clinical situations, such as presumptive bacteremia in infants and uncomplicated gonococcal infections, but patients hardly enjoy this form of therapy. These investigators found that using lidocaine as a diluent eases the pain.
They randomized 39 adolescents and young adults with gonorrhea, treated at an inner-city clinic, to receive 250 mg of ceftriaxone sodium IM diluted with either 1 percent lidocaine or sterile water. The groups had similar expectations of pain before the injection (rated on a scale of 1 to 10). However, those given lidocaine reported significantly less pain immediately after the injection and 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 6 hours later; their mean pain…