Lidocaine spray 10% prior to intravenous catheterisation in dogs.

A common and to some degree painful procedure in veterinary practice is to insert an intra-venous catheter. In both human and veterinary medicine, a topical mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA cream) has shown to reduce the pain, however a period of 60 min between application and initiation of the procedure is recommended. This time lapse is not always suitable for clinical practise and a shorter time before anaesthetic effect is therefore desirable.