Dorsal penile nerve block versus eutectic mixture of local anesthetics cream for pain relief in infants during circumcision: A meta-analysis

Objective: To compare dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) and eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream for pain relief in infants during circumcision. Methods: We systematically searched Medline via PubMed, Embase, CNKI and the Cochrane Library Center Register to identify randomized controlled trials up to March 2018. Effect estimates were performed in random effect models. Mean neonate infant pain scale (NIPS) scores, incidence of hematoma, edema and erythema, mean heart rate were conducted to assessed the effect of analgesia. We found that the EMLA had significantly higher pain scores compared to DPNB (SMD = 3.72, 95% CI 1.27–6.17, P = 0.003). In DPNB group, the incidence of hematoma was significantly higher than EMLA group, OR = 0.03, 95% CI 0.00–0.24, P = 0.001. The analysis did not show any significant differences in mean heart rate and the risk of edema and erythema between EMLA and DPNB group (SMD = 21.71, 95% CI = -0.88–44.30, P = 0.06 & OR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.15–1.07, P = 0.07 & OR = 7.33, 95% CI 0.84–64.07, P = 0.07). Conclusion: Based on the pooled results from the included studies, we found that DPNB was significantly more effective in pain relief as indicated by mean NIPS score than EMLA in infants during circumcision. However, use of DPNB significantly increased the risk of hematoma.