In general , active non-invasive anaesthetic methods seemed to provide favourable results compared to placebo or no anaesthesia , and topical anaesthetic drugs and PSF seemed to result in a better pain reduction than skin cooling .
However , the current evidence is insufficient to provide recommendations for daily clinical practice .
Future studies should also evaluate sex differences in pain perception , have uniformity with regard to vali date d pain measurement scales and address clinical ly significant differences in pain reduction besides statistically significant differences
Pain is a common side-effect of dermatological laser procedures .
Non-invasive anaesthetic drugs and anaesthetic procedures can be used to provide pain relief and increase patient satisfaction and treatment efficacy .
However , it remains unclear which method provides the best pain relief .
The objective of this systematic review was therefore to assess the efficacy and safety of non-invasive anaesthetic methods during dermatological laser procedures .
Effect of percutaneous local anaesthetics on pain reduction during pulse dye laser treatment of portwine stains.
We have used EMLA , 4 % amethocaine gel and placebo for facial portwine stains , for a period of 1 h , in a double-blind study . After removal of the preparations from the skin surface , each area was treated with six pulses of the laser , each 5 mm in diameter . Any pain noted immediately after treatment was recorded using both visual analogue ( VAS ) and verbal rating ( VRS ) scores .  Twenty nine patients completed the study and statistical analysis of the results indicated that both EMLA and 4 % amethocaine gel were superior to placebo ( P < 0.001 ) . However , when EMLA and 4 % amethocaine gel were compared , the amethocaine preparation was significantly better ( P < 0.05 , VAS ; P < 0.005 VRS ) than EMLA in reducing pain caused by the laser treatment
In general , active non-invasive anaesthetic methods seemed to provide favourable results compared to placebo or no anaesthesia , and topical anaesthetic drugs and PSF seemed to result in a better pain reduction than skin cooling .
However , the current evidence is insufficient to provide recommendations for daily clinical practice .
Future studies should also evaluate sex differences in pain perception , have uniformity with regard to vali date d pain measurement scales and address clinical ly significant differences in pain reduction besides statistically significant differences
Pain is a common side-effect of dermatological laser procedures .
Non-invasive anaesthetic drugs and anaesthetic procedures can be used to provide pain relief and increase patient satisfaction and treatment efficacy .
However , it remains unclear which method provides the best pain relief .
The objective of this systematic review was therefore to assess the efficacy and safety of non-invasive anaesthetic methods during dermatological laser procedures .