Peripheral Venous Access Pain

Zingo™: The Rapid-Onset Topical Anesthetic

Procedures for blood draws and intravenous (IV) line placements, known as “peripheral venous access procedures,” are frequently performed on hospitalized children. In fact, in hospitalized children, peripheral venous access procedures are among the most frequently reported painful events.1 In 2004, more than 18 million of these procedures were performed on children in hospitals in the United States.2

Zingo™ (lidocaine hydrochloride monohydrate) powder intradermal injection system provides fast, needle-free topical local analgesia, allowing peripheral venous access procedures to begin one to three minutes after administration in children ages three to 18.

Among Zingo’s properties:

  • Rapid onset of analgesia in one to three minutes after administration3, 4
  • Simple to use, easy to administer5
  • Needle-free3
  • In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions were redness (erythema), red dots (petechiae) and swelling (edema) at the site of administration3

Timing is Everything

Before Zingo, available anesthetic creams took 30 to 60 minutes or longer to act. That delay limited use of the creams in the fast-paced hospital environment where time-pressed healthcare providers had to choose between patient comfort and speed when performing peripheral venous access procedures.6

Zingo delivers sterile lidocaine powder into the skin. It is simple to use and easy to administer, and the venous access procedure can begin within one to three minutes after administration. Zingo’s rapid action represents a new alternative for the control of peripheral venous access pain management for children.

Zingo was evaluated in two Phase 3 trials involving more than 1,100 patients in the U.S., demonstrating statistically significant reduction in peripheral venous access pain compared to placebo in children three to 18 years of age. One of these studies was recently published in the prestigious journal Pediatrics.4

Making Venous Access Pain Management a Reality

The American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among other organizations, have developed recommendations that emphasize the importance of minimizing procedural pain in children whenever possible.7 However, despite the existence of these recommendations, children undergoing peripheral venous access procedures remain largely under-treated.8 A recent survey of nurses, sponsored by Anesiva, Inc. found that nearly all survey participants (92 percent) agreed that patients and their families would benefit from the use of a fast-acting topical local anesthetic for such procedures.6

  1. Wong DL, Baker CM. Pain in children: comparison of assessment scales. Pediatr Nurs. 1988;14(1):9-17.
  2. Anesiva, Data on File.
  3. Zingo full prescribing information. Anesiva, Inc. 2007.
  4. Zempsky, WT et al. Needle-Free Powder Lidocaine Delivery System Provides Rapid Effective Analgesia for Venipuncture or Cannulation Pain in Children: Randomized, Double-Blind Comparison of Venipuncture and Venous Cannulation Pain After Fast-onset Needle-Free Powder Lidocaine or Placebo Trial. Pediatrics 2008; 121: 979-987.
  5. LHM Device User Study Report. Anesiva, Inc. October 2007.
  6. Papa, AM, et al. Nurse and Patient Satisfaction Negatively Impacted by Inadequate Peripheral Venous Access Pain Management in Children. 2008: American Pain Society Annual Meeting. Poster #274.
  7. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and American Pain Society Task Force on Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Pediatrics. 2001;108:793-797.
  8. MacLean S et al.. The gap between pediatric emergency department procedural pain management treatments available and actual practice. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2007;23(2):87-93.

IV insertions & blood draws are among the most frequently reported painful events in hospitalized children.1