Background: Successful local anaesthesia is of critical importance for the success of septoplasty, and many surgeons prefer to use cocaine for this purpose. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cocaine 4 per cent solution, compared with tetracaine 2 per cent plus adrenaline, as a local anaesthetic for patients undergoing septoplasty.

Methods: From December 2002 to February 2005, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted. One hundred and eight patients underwent septoplasty under local anaesthesia. Patients were randomly classified into group A and group B, in which was used respectively cocaine 4 per cent solution and tetracaine 2 per cent solution plus adrenaline. A visual analogue scale was used to evaluate the severity of patients' pain during their procedure.

Results: Group B (tetracaine; mean rank=43.77) reported significantly less pain (p<0.001) compared with group A (cocaine; mean rank=65.23).

Conclusions: On the basis of these findings, we recommend tetracaine as the first choice anaesthetic for nasal septoplasty; the use of cocaine should be limited.