The Annals of pharmacotherapy
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Efficacy of topical anesthetics to reduce pain in premature infants during eye examinations for retinopathy of prematurity.
Eye examinations for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are stressful and probably painful, but many ophthalmologists do not apply topical anesthetics because their efficacy in reducing pain has not been established. ⋯ Topical anesthetic pretreatment reduces the pain response to eye examination for ROP and should become routine practice. Because this is not effective in all infants, additional measures to reduce pain should be taken.