A Comparative Study on the Effect of EMLA Cream and Diclofenac Gel on Pain Caused by Needle Port Placement in Patients Under Chemotherapy: A Clinical Trial

Injections are common nursing interventions, which usually cause pain. The pain caused by injection causes anxiety, discomfort, and reduced patient confidence in nursing performance. Since applying methods that enhance patients’ comfort is a nursing task, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of EMLA cream and diclofenac gel on pain caused by needle port placement in patients undergoing chemotherapy at the oncology department. This cross-sectional clinical trial study was conducted on 40 inpatients of the Oncology Ward of Khatam-al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan, during year 2017. Patients were selected by conventional sampling, based on the Inclusion criteria of the study. Patients were randomly assigned to use EMLA cream, diclofenac gel or the placebo. The severity of pain was measured immediately after injection, using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Blindness was done for pain the assessor and data analyzer. The SPSS 22 software was used for statistical analysis. First, descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency, percentage, and mean, and then inferential statistics of paired t-test, for group comparison. The mean scores of the severity of pain in three groups of EMLA, diclofenac gel, and placebo were 5.49 ± 2.05, 5.88 ± 1.93, and 6.71 ± 1.96, respectively. Comparison between diclofenac gel and placebo showed that the mean decrease in pain intensity in the diclofenac gel group was far more than the placebo (P < 0.0001). Comparing EMLA cream and placebo, the mean reduction in pain intensity in the EMLA cream was far higher than the placebo (P < 0.0001). Finally, the EMLA cream was more effective than diclofenac gel in pain reduction, although the difference was not statically significant. Although the use of EMLA cream and diclofenac gel can reduce pain at the injection site, applying diclofenac gel is recommended due to its availability, cost-effectiveness, and domestic production.