A chill buzz vs. a needle: can a device replace a drug for Kids' pain?
NCT ID NCT07770581
First seen Aug 18, 2026 · Last updated Aug 19, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether a vibrating cold device called Buzzy can reduce the pain children feel when receiving propofol, a common anesthesia drug. Propofol often stings when injected, and the standard prevention is a lidocaine injection beforehand. The study will compare the Buzzy device to lidocaine in children aged 12 to 17, using pain scales and vital signs to see if the device works just as well without adding another drug.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Buzzy personal pain relief device (a vibrating cold device) compared with intravenous lidocaine
- What this could lead to
- If effective, the Buzzy device could offer a drug-free way to reduce injection pain in children, avoiding extra medications.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is small and early, and the device may not work as well as lidocaine. Pain is subjective, and results may not apply to all children.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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49 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Jun 2014
- Finished
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Jun 2017
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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12 to 17 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Patients who are in the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification I to III (meaning healthy patients, patients with mild systemic disease, and patients with serious controlled systemic disease) between the ages of 12 and 17 presenting from home for procedures including, but not limited to, upper and lower endoscopy, orthopedic surgery, and medical imaging will be enrolled. Exclusion Criteria: Based on history and physical examination, patients requiring a rapid sequence induction of anesthesia and patients requiring an emergency procedure will be excluded. Standard institutional practice is to place IVs in children over 12 before surgery. There are some patients who, due to needle phobia, may prefer a mask induction of anesthesia, but at this age, but this is the exception rather than the rule. If a child was determined to require a mask induction, they would be excluded from the study.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States