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Ethyl Chloride Spray to Reduce Pain From Local Anesthesia During Mohs Micrographic Surgery

NCT06920381 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: EARLY_PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2025-09-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Fear of needles is a well-documented issue that affects many patients. This fear may cause significant anxiety in various medical situations, including in the dermatology office 1. If not properly managed, needle phobia can persist, affecting a patient's experience during each visit. This effect may compound and lead to avoidance behaviors that can delay necessary treatments 2. This issue is particularly relevant in a Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) clinic where each patient experiences several painful needle injections before the day is over.

Ethyl chloride is gaining popularity among dermatologists for its routine use in clinical practice due to its anesthetic and antiseptic properties, especially as a pre-injection agent. Research indicates that cryotherapy or pre-cooling the skin before administering a local anesthetic may offer benefits over topical anesthetics, such as enhanced pain relief, quicker onset, and better patient compliance 3,4. However, to our knowledge, no studies have specifically examined the effectiveness of pre-cooling with ethyl chloride prior to Mohs micrographic surgery. To address this gap, we're conducting a trial aimed at evaluating the impact of pre-cooling with ethyl chloride on pain perception in adult patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery with local anesthetic injections.

The trial is a single-center, split-body study. The split-body design will involve dividing the surgical site into two equal halves, with one half (right side relative to patient) designated as the treatment side (receiving ethyl chloride spray prior to lidocaine injection) and the other as the control side (no ethyl chloride spray prior to injection). During the procedure, the participant will be asked to rate the pain associated with the needle injection AND the pain from infiltration of anesthetic from each side of the wound using the visual analog scale (VAS) scoring system (1 = no pain, 10 = most amount of pain possible). The results of the study will help us better understand how to mitigate pain and anxiety for patients requiring MMS.

Conditions

  • Surgery

Interventions

DRUG

Gebauer's Ethyl Chloride Topical Spray

Prior to injection of lidocaine, the investigator will apply ethyl chloride spray, Gebauer's Ethyl Chloride Topical Spray, continuously for 4 to 10 seconds until the skin turns white. This application will be done from a distance of 8 to 18 cm (3 to 7 inches) to the right side of the tumor lesion.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of California, Davis

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-06-01
Primary Completion
2026-06-01
Completion
2026-06-01
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06920381 on ClinicalTrials.gov