Comparison of outcomes for pediatric paraphimosis reduction using topical anesthetic versus intravenous procedural sedation.

BACKGROUND: Paraphimosis is an acute urologic emergency requiring urgent manual reduction, frequently necessitating procedural sedation (PS) in the pediatric population. The present study sought to compare outcomes among pediatric patients undergoing paraphimosis reduction using a novel topical anesthetic (TA) technique versus PS.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients <18years old, presenting to a tertiary pediatric ED requiring analgesia for paraphimosis reduction between October 2013 and September 2016. The primary outcome was reduction first attempt success; secondary outcomes included Emergency Department length of stay (ED LOS), adverse events and return visits. Dichotomous outcomes were analyzed by Chi-square testing and multivariate linear regression was used to compare continuous variables.

RESULTS: Forty-six patients were included; 35 underwent reduction using TA, 11 by PS. Patient age and duration of paraphimosis at ED presentation did not differ between groups. There was no difference in first attempt success between TA (32/35, 91.4%) and PS groups (9/11, 81.8%; p=0.37). Mean ED LOS was 209min shorter for TA patients (148min vs. 357min, p=0.001) and remained significantly shorter after controlling for age and duration of paraphimosis (adjusted mean difference -198min, p=0.003). There were no return visits or major adverse events in either group, however, among successful reduction attempts, PS patients more frequently experienced minor adverse events (7/9 vs. 0/32, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Paraphimosis reduction using TA was safe and effective. Compared to PS, TA was associated with a reduced ED LOS and fewer adverse events. TA could potentially allow more timely reduction with improved patient experience and resource utilization.