Pain Outcomes Following Intralesional Corticosteroid Injections

Corticosteroid therapy, including intralesional and topical applications, has many
indications within the fields of Dermatology, Plastic Surgery, and Orthopedics. However,
these injections can be quite painful, which leads many patients to discontinue treatment.

Often, the injection involves a mixture of local anesthetic and corticosteroids despite a
lack of evidence that the use of lidocaine improves pain. Due to the acidic pH, the lidocaine
component of the injection can actually cause a significant burning sensation during the
procedure. Lidocaine does not have anti-inflammatory properties and does not treat the
underlying pathology. By including another medication, lidocaine also adds cost and risk to
the procedure.

The purpose of this study is to see if removing lidocaine from intralesional injections
decreases the pain of injection.