Effectiveness of Continuous Application of Lidocaine Cream, Povidone Iodine Cream, and Honey on Second-degree Perineal Tear Healing, a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The sample size was calculated using the formulation for comparative study with power 1 - β = 0.8, two-tail α = 0.05, a mean of the standard deviation of 1.265, and a minimum mean difference of 0.3. The required sample size was 140 sample of labor women (35 samples in each group).

Research subjects included as many as 220 subjects. A total of 215 subjects met the inclusion criteria, consisting of 4 groups based on the type of perineal wound treatment: the group smeared with honey, lidocaine cream, povidone iodine cream, and the control group. There were 5 research subjects who did not meet the criteria, namely: 2 subjects experienced postpartum hemorrhage, 1 subject had a vulvar hematoma and was re-stitched, and 2 subjects were not willing to participate in the study. All study subjects were measured on the REEDA and VAS scales and observed on days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14. During the observation, 10 subjects could not be followed up further. The research subjects analyzed consisted of honey (n = 50), lidocaine cream (n = 50), povidone-iodine cream (n = 50), and controls (n = 50).

Initially, all participants were assessed for the severity of the wound due to their perineal tear and the VAS pain scale. After that, continuous suturing of the perineum was carried out with Chromic absorbable thread no.2.0 by a competent obstetrician resident according to operational standards. All women with perineal sutures were given ten tablets of paracetamol 500 mg 3 times daily, not antibiotics. After 30 minutes to 1 hour of perineal suturing, the subjects were divided into four groups, each group of at least 50 people was given simple randomized treatment (ratio 1:1:1:1). Each treatment group, i.e. lidocaine cream (Dolones Cream, Sanbe Farma, Indonesia), honey (Madu TJ, Tresno Joyo, Indonesia), povidone-iodine cream (Betadine, Mundi Pharma, Indonesia), and the control group were not given any intervention were applied routinely to the wound two times a day for 14 days and monitored on days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14. The parameters monitored were the wound healing process and pain scale using the REEDA scale (30 cm ruler) and visual analogue scale (VAS), respectively. The single-blinded method was used to minimize bias. All subjects were given a choice of four closed tubes of different colours, each filled with honey, lidocaine cream and povidone-iodine cream, then given instructions for use by applying twice daily. Monitoring is carried out by providing monitoring cards and being followed daily.

Subjects were taught how to apply it by washing their hands first, then applying it to all perineal wounds. Research subjects were asked to report all complaints and side effects that were felt. All subjects have explained the purpose of the research and confidentiality in data management.

The data were coded, entered, and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2010 and Statistical Package for the Social Science version 16.0 (SPSS Inc; Chicago, IL, USA). The statistical test used is the ANOVA test if the data is normally distributed or the Kruskal Wallis test if the data is not normally distributed. These two tests were used to compare the three treatment groups. To see the changes in each group, a repeated ANOVA test was used if the data were normally distributed or the Friedman test if the data were not. These tests are used if repeated observations are made more than two times. To find out the normality of the data using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The analyzed data will then be presented as frequency tables, cross-tabulation tables, graphs, and narratives for interpretation and discussion.