Is routine procaine spirit application necessary in the care of episiotomy wound?

A randomised controlled trial to investigate the usefulness of local application of procaine spirit versus cleansing with water for care of episiotomy wound after normal vaginal delivery was conducted in 100 women. Fifty women entered the study arm and 50 entered the control arm of the study. Women in the two arms were similar in their demographic and obstetric characteristics. The pain scores on a verbal analogue scale was highest (score = 2.5) on Day 1 of the delivery. This was the same in women in both arms. The number of paracetamol tablets consumed was also low and was similar in both groups of women. By the fourteenth day of delivery, all the women were pain-free and the wound had healed well. It was noted that all the women maintained a high standard of perineal hygiene with a mean of 5 washes a day. It is concluded that in a woman with normal vaginal delivery, local application of procaine spirit is unnecessary in the care of a routine episiotomy wound.