Local anaesthetic infiltration for the rubber band ligation of early symptomatic haemorrhoids: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The objective of this article is to systematically analyse the randomized, controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of local anaesthetic infiltration prior to the rubber band ligation of early symptomatic haemorrhoids. Published randomized, controlled trials comparing the use of local anaesthetic (LA) versus no-local anaesthetic (NLA) for the rubber band ligation of early symptomatic haemorrhoids were analysed using RevMan®, and the combined outcomes were expressed as odds ratios (OR) and standardized mean difference (SMD). Four randomized, controlled trials evaluating 387 patients were retrieved from the standard electronic databases. The risk of treatment failure (OR 0.44; 95 % CI 0.07, 2.79; z = 0.87; p = 0.39) and post-procedure complications (OR 0.48; 95 % CI 0.08, 2.76; z = 0.83; p = 0.41) was similar between two techniques. However, the post-procedure pain score (SMD −5.19; 95 % CI −9.08, −1.30; z = 2.62; p < 0.009) was significantly lower in the group of patients undergoing rubber band ligation of haemorrhoids under local anaesthetic injection. The use of LA appears to have clinically measurable advantages over NLA in the rubber band ligation of early symptomatic haemorrhoids to lessen post-procedure pain.