Treatment of the cutaneous pain of acute herpes zoster with 9% lidocaine (base) in petrolatum/paraffin ointment.

Background: Treatment of the pain of acute herpes zoster by local anesthetic injections has drawbacks. Topical percutaneous local anesthesia (TPLA) may offer another strategy of providing regional analgesia in affected patients.

Objective: We evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of 9% (wt/vol) lidocaine (base) in petrolatum/paraffin ointment in patients with acute herpes zoster.