New Localized Pain Treatment System Available From B. Braun

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- B. Braun, a leading healthcare products and services company and worldwide leader in regional anesthesia, announced today the availability of the LidoSite Topical System, a method to help reduce needlestick pain associated with procedures such as intravenous cannulation, venipuncture, or laser ablation of superficial skin lesions for patients age five and up.  The LidoSite Topical System, comprised of the LidoSite Patch (Lidocaine HCl/Epinephrine Topical Iontophoretic Patch) 10 percent/0.1 percent and the LidoSite Controller, provides pain reduction equivalent to a Lidocaine injection without the needlestick.

Unlike the topical anesthetic creams typically used in today's healthcare settings to address needlestick pain, the LidoSite System delivers numbing medication to the procedure site quickly and effectively after a 10-minute application.  Topical anesthetic creams usually take up to an hour for full anesthetic benefit.

"Needlesticks for children can arouse more fear than major surgeries and

 other more invasive procedures," according to William T. Zempsky, MD,

 associate director of the Pain Relief Program at Connecticut Children's Medical

 Center. "The LidoSite Topical System offers these patients several

 advantages over other commercially available topical anesthetic systems.

 Namely, it provides topical anesthesia in just 10 minutes compared to

 topical creams requiring 30 to 60 minutes; and it is simple to use --

 anesthetic delivery starts with a single button push compared to older

 more cumbersome systems."

 "A large, multi-center study recently showed that the LidoSite Topical

 System was well accepted by children and adults," Zempsky continues.

 "LidoSite proves that lidocaine iontophoresis provides not only faster,

 but superior depth of anesthesia compared to commonly used prescription

 topical creams."

 "Many hospitalized children fear a needle more so than other medical

 procedures," said Christopher DiBiase, product director for pain control at B.

 Braun Medical Inc. "LidoSite provides the necessary anesthesia while

 minimizing the pain and anxiety associated with venipuncture."

 The LidoSite Topical System enables medical practitioners to easily comply

 with American Pain Society (APS) and the American Academy of Pediatrics

 (AAP) guidelines for adequately addressing acute- or short-lived pain.

 These guidelines, which apply to the treatment of children and adults,

 call for healthcare practitioners to eliminate or reduce pain caused by

 medical treatments whenever possible. In fact, the APS and AAP agree that

 acute pain experienced with medical procedures can, in most cases, be

 substantially reduced and even prevented.

Results from many medical facilities' Press-Gainey Patient Satisfaction

 surveys show that discomfort associated with obtaining IV access is an

 aspect of patient care that requires improvement.(1)  To improve patient

 care quality, and maintain Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare

 Organizations (JCAHO) accreditation, some facilities have identified

 reducing pain associated with IV access as a quality improvement goal. The

 LidoSite Topical System presents them with an option for meeting this goal

 without the drawbacks inherent in existing systems.

 The LidoSite Topical System consists of a single-use, pre-filled LidoSite

 Patch, filled with Lidocaine HCl 10 percent and Epinephrine 0.1 percent, and the

 LidoSite Controller, an easy-to-use pre-programmed device that activates

 the patch. Through a proven process called iontophoresis, the Patch is

 activated by a mild current from the Controller to accelerate delivery of

 Lidocaine, the anesthetic medication, to the injection site.

 Epinephrine contained in the LidoSite Patch helps focus the anesthetic

 effect directly under the Patch and extends the duration of the effect for

 an hour.

The LidoSite System was developed by Vyteris, Inc., of Fair Lawn, N.J. and

 received FDA clearance in 2004. B. Braun is the exclusive marketing

 partner of Vyteris for the LidoSite Topical System.

 Reference:

1. Morrison R., et al.: "Pain and Discomfort Associated with Common

Hospital Procedures and Experiences" , Journal of Pain and Symptom

Management. 15(2): 91-101, 1998.

Source: B. Braun Medical Inc.