psd-502 and Genital-Diseases--Female

Removal of genital warts by thermocautery was performed in 108 patients (57 men and 51 women) under topical anaesthesia with a local anaesthetic cream, lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA). Most men had warts in the preputial cavity, most women had warts situated on the mucous membranes of the vulva, and warts at multiple sites were common. About 1 ml of cream per lesion was applied to the warts for 20 to 105 minutes before the operation. Plastic film (Glad, Union Carbide) was applied over the cream when natural occlusion, such as under the prepuce or on the introitus, was not present. Local pallor was seen in 30% of the patients, redness in 53%, and oedema in 15%, but did not cause any discomfort and were clinically insignificant. Analgesia was sufficient in 96% of the men and in 40% of the women. Additional local infiltration was given to 60% of the women, but was not as painful as injections generally are in the genital area. The analgesic efficacy on women may be further improved by optimising the application time on the genital mucosa.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anesthesia, Local; Anesthetics, Local; Cautery; Clinical Trials as Topic; Drug Combinations; Female; Genital Diseases, Female; Genital Diseases, Male; Humans; Lidocaine; Lidocaine, Prilocaine Drug Combination; Male; Middle Aged; Prilocaine; Warts

EMLA(®) (eutectic mixture of local anesthetics, 2.5% each of lidocaine and prilocaine in an oil and water emulsion) is used as a topical anesthetic. We report three cases of EMLA(®) -induced histopathologic changes on the vulvar epithelium. While there are some similar histopathologic features to those reported in extragenital skin, we describe additional findings on vulvar epithelium, which, to our knowledge, have not been reported previously. The patients presented with clinical signs suggestive of lichen sclerosus or erosive lichen planus (LP), but were all confirmed histopathologically as LP. The biopsy was taken after 15 min of EMLA(®) application and intradermal injection of 1% lidocaine. Blistering prior to intradermal lidocaine and the biopsy procedure was observed in two patients. The histopathologic changes observed in the epithelium included pallor of the upper epidermis, mild spongiosis, intraepidermal subcorneal and suprabasal acantholysis, congestion of the papillary dermal capillaries and extravasated erythrocytes. Basophilic granules were present, but rare, while the necrosis with multifocal clefting was more marked than in extragenital skin. It is important to be aware of these changes occurring on genital mucosa; these may occur in the absence of clinical signs and may obscure the primary underlying pathology, thus representing a diagnostic pitfall.

Topics: Acantholysis; Administration, Topical; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anesthetics, Combined; Biopsy; Epidermis; Epithelium; Female; Genital Diseases, Female; Humans; Lichen Planus; Lidocaine; Lidocaine, Prilocaine Drug Combination; Middle Aged; Prilocaine; Vulva; Vulvar Diseases