In vitro and in vivo Evaluation of New Topical Anaesthetic Cream Formulated with Palm Oil Base.

Background: Topical local anaesthetic cream was reported to be useful for pain relief for cutaneous procedures such as minor surgery and venipuncture.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of new formulation of lidocaine topical anaesthetic using palm oil base, HAMIN® and to determine how fast this new formulation produces adequate numbness compared to the currently used EMLA cream, in the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) set-up.

Method: The skin permeation test was conducted by using Franz type diffusion cell and pain assessment was carried out in healthy subject by using Verbal Rating Score (VRS) and Visual Analogue Score (VAS) evaluation.