The Role of Local Anesthesia Methods on the Development of Wound Infection at Upper Extremity Lacerations

Objective: This study was designed to identify whether the application method of a local anesthetic agent before suturing affects the development of wound infection.
Material and Methods: Adult patients with upper extremity lacerations were randomized into two groups if they required wound repair with simple sutures. Direct infiltration of a local anesthetic was performed in patients in Group 1, whereas parallel margin infiltration was performed in patients in Group 2. After 1 week, patients were evaluated clinically by different physicians who were blinded to the patients’ wound infection.
Results: A total of 164 patients were enrolled in the study, but 144 were available for data analysis. 4 patients [1 patient was in group 1 (1/73, 1.4%), 3 patients were in group 2 (3/71, 4.2%)] were found to have an infection during the follow-up visit.
Conclusion: The application method of the local anesthetic agent before suturing does not affect the development of wound infection. There were no statistically significant differences related to the development of infection between the two methods.

Keywords: Local anesthesia, wound infection, suturation, laceration