Oh lolly lollipop

PHOTO: CLARU_VDP

Most medical procedures are reasonably unpleasant, but some are markedly worse than others. One that really isn’t so fabulous is an upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. It involves inserting a camera into said intestinal tract and having a good look, and usually requires the patient to be sedated. That’s how nice it is. The sedation makes the whole procedure more expensive and more risky, so is best avoided if possible. Now researchers in the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Lebanon have discovered a way to avoid it. They made a lidocaine lollipop and gave it to the patient prior to the op, and then decided if sedation was necessary. Hardly any patients who’d been given a lolly needed the sedation, compared to those who’d been tiven the alternative, a lidocaine oral spray.

According to the press release., “the lollipop group had less gag reflex, accommodated scope introduction more, and tolerated the procedure better. Researchers thought that the observed effectiveness of the lollipop could be explained by the continuous release of lidocaine from sucking the lollipop, in addition to swallowing the saliva mixed with the local anesthetic.” To be given a pre-op lollipop is probably also quite soothing and pleasant too, if you’ve only recently been afflicted by persistent pain, nausea and vomiting.