SPG Block Versus Placebo to Manage Anxiety at Electronic Dance Music Festivals

1. Background & Rationale

Electronic dance music festivals are a growing source of entertainment in Canada. Attended by thousands at a time, it is important to have a medical team onsite to manage clinical issues in these mass gatherings. One of the most common clinical presentations at these festivals is anxiety. In a low-resource setting, it is not always possible to supply all guests with oral or injectable anti-anxiety therapy. Additionally, anti-anxiety medication is often sedating, which we would want to avoid in a patient population at higher risk of sedation (e.g., intoxication). A simple, non-sedating, alternative treatment that can be administered by a medical team member that can be given without the need of a needle would be ideal.

Anecdotal reports have noted that sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks with lidocaine, intranasally, is effective for the relief of anxiety. As well, the PI has had anecdotal success in managing patient anxiety with SPG blocks. At the time of writing, there has been no published study found by our team to evaluate the efficacy of SPG blocks on anxiety. 2. Research Question & Objectives

Question: In electronic dance music festival attendees, who present with anxiety to the medical team, how does a 2% lidocaine-soaked cotton tip applicator, inserted into both nares until it meets resistance, compare with a saline-soaked cotton tip applicator, inserted into both nares until it meets resistance, for self-reported anxiety 10-minutes post-intervention?

The objective of this trial is to study the effectiveness of bilateral SPG block for anxiety. 3. Methods