Thermal effect of sonophoresis for accelerating the analgesic effect of local anesthetics on rat tail nerve

Sonophoresis is an ultrasound transdermal drugs delivery system. The eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) has been used clinically for anesthesia but requires at least one hour to take effect and lacks of analgesia´s objective assessment. We proposed that sonophoresis could reduce the duration of EMLA analgesia effect onset and be assessed by sensory conduction studies. Thirty Wistar adult rats were randomized into normal, control, ultrasound-, and heat-treatment groups. Normal group was received no EMLA cream or ultrasound and heat treatment. The control group received the EMLA cream on the rat tail at 3.5 cm distal to the rat tail base for local anesthesia of tail nerve. Ultrasound- and heat-treatment groups were received ultrasound with different parameters and heat treatment, respectively, before EMLA cream applied. Sensory conduction studies of tail nerve were made before and after treatment every 5 min at least for 60 min in all rats. There was no significant difference between the EMLA control group and heat treatment group. All rats in ultrasound-treatment group exhibit significant difference with EMLA control group and heat-treatment group in time for decreased 20% SNCV except for the 2 W/cm², 25 min, 20% in ultrasound-treatment group having no significant difference with heat-treatment group. There was no significant difference between ultrasound-treatment subgroups. In the decrease of amplitude, only the 2 W/cm², 5 min, 100% and the 2 W/cm², 10 min, 50% in ultrasound-treatment group had significant difference between EMLA control and heat-treatment groups. We have objectively examined the sonophoresis effect of ultrasound by investigating the effects of EMLA. Applying ultrasound for 5 min reduces the onset time of EMLA analgesia from 60 min to less than 20 min. Ultrasound sonophoresis of analgesic drugs is potentially useful in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, tooth extraction, and other applications of an- algesia.