Inhaled nitrous oxide during the make stitches : Randomized double blind prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Inhaled nitrous oxide (MEOPA) ensures short-term analgesia of a patient in spontaneous ventilation through a mask. It ensures analgesic coverage during the painful gesture while saving to the patient the phenomena of memorization.

AIM: To study the efficacy and safety of the use of MEOPA during the make stitches.

METHODS: Randomized double blind prospective study including any patient aged > 16 years admitted to the emergency for make stitches during a period of 3 months. After consent, patients were randomized to 2 groups (MEOPA versus placebo). When the stitches were made, if the patient has a VAS (visual analog scale) > 30%, an emergency analgesia with 2% subcutaneous xylocaine is performed. The primary endpoint was the degree of analgesia according to VAS. The secondary endpoints were the occurrence of side effects, patient and operator satisfaction.

RESULTS: We collected 115 patients comparable in age, sex and pain at baseline. The mean of the VAS during suturing was 11.1±5.8% (MEOPA) versus 47.8±13.9% (placebo); and the mean at the end of the procedure was 5.2±5% (MEOPA) versus 27.6±12.8% (placebo) with p=0.000. Only minor adverse events (22% versus 16%) were observed with P = 0.306.

CONCLUSION: We affirm the interest of this non-invasive, safe, innocuous analgesic technique that satisfies caregivers, patients and caregivers in suturing.