Abstract

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether there is any evidence to show that stripping the stratum corneum with adhesive tape reduces time to analgesia after application of EMLA in children undergoing venepuncture. Altogether 43 papers were found using the reported search, of which one presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of this paper are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated