The effect of preoperative intravenous lidocaine on postoperative pain following hysteroscopy

Abstract

Background: The use of hysteroscopy for the diagnosis and treatment of uterine and endometrial abnormalities is often associated with postoperative pain. This randomized controlled trial aimed to assess the efficacy of preoperative intravenous (IV) lidocaine in reducing pain after hysteroscopy. Methods: In total, 138 patients undergoing elective hysteroscopy at the CHA Bundang Medical Center, Seongnam, Korea were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 69) or a lidocaine group (n = 69), which received normal saline or IV lidocaine at 1.5 mg/kg, respectively. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative pain. Results: The incidence of pain was significantly lower in the IV lidocaine group than in the control group at the post-anesthesia care unit (27.3% vs 68.2%, P < .001). The visual analog scale (0–10) score (median [interquartile range]) was lower in the IV lidocaine group than in the control group (0 [0–2]) vs 2 [0–4]), P < .001). The use of rescue analgesics and postoperative nausea and vomiting were similar between the 2 groups. This study demonstrated that administering 1.5 mg/kg of preoperative IV lidocaine can be a simple method to reduce incidence of pain after hysteroscopy. Conclusion: Preoperative bolus administration of 1.5 mg/kg of IV lidocaine may be used to decrease incidence of pain after hysteroscopy under general anesthesia.

Pregabalin and intravenous lidocaine for management of postoperative pain and surgical stress response in elective laparotomies: A double blind randomised controlled trial

“…The significant reduction in VAS score post abdominal surgeries as reported in systematic review form a convincing basis for the use of IV lidocaine, more so with combined pregabalin. 19,20 Further studies with much larger sample sizes and a wider application of these drugs may be carried out to further espouse their benefit.…”