Anesthetic Efficacy of Lidocaine/Ketorolac on Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block in Patients with Irreversible Pulpitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this randomized, double-blind study was to evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of lidocaine-ketorolac administration by Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block (IANB) in patients with irreversible pulpitis. METHODS: Eighty-eight adult patients received a combination of either one cartridge of “2% lidocaine with 1:80.000 epinephrine” (Li) plus one cartridge of a mixture of 0.8 mL of the same solution and 1mL ketorolac tromethamine (KT)(30 mg/mL), or one cartridge of Li solution plus one cartridge of a mixture of the same solution and saline. Endodontic access was prepared after fifteen minutes. Anesthetic success was defined as no or mild pain [less than 54 mm on the Heft-Parker visual analog scale (HP-VAS)] during access cavity preparation and initial file insertion. Chi-square test was used for data analysis, and the level of significance was set at 0.05 (P=0.05). RESULTS: Results showed that the success rates were 34.1% and 27.3% for Li-KT and Li-Saline groups, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.48). However, significant decrease of baseline mean VAS pain score of the participants in both groups was found during access cavity preparation or initial file insertion (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Mixed Li-KT solution did not increase the success rate of IANB injection significantly.