To investigate the sustained release of lidocaine from a lidocaine-epirubicinlipiodol emulsion created by water-in-oil (W/O) technique in vivo and evaluate the efficacy and safety of intraarterial lidocaine administration for intra-and postoperative pain control in transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The in vivo concentrations of lidocaine were determined in tumor tissues after VX2 rabbit models for hepatic tumor were administered with intra-arterial lidocaine-epirubicinlipiodol emulsion. A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was performed, enrolling 70 consecutive patients who underwent TACE. Patients were randomized into two groups: Group A received an immediate bolus intraarterial lidocaine injection before TACE, and Group B received a lidocaine-epirubicin-lipiodol emulsion during TACE. Pain intensity was compared between the two groups using a visual analog scale (VAS) score before (T before ) and at 0 h (T 0 ), 4 h (T 4 ), 8 h (T 8 ), 24 h (T 24 ), 48 h (T 48 ), and 72 h (T 72 ) after the procedure. Adverse events and intake of analgesics were evaluated and compared between the two groups. Results: The concentrations of lidocaine in tumor tissues were higher in experimental group than in control group at T 0.5 (P=0.004), T 1 (P=0.038), T 4 (P=0.036), and T 8 (P=0.029). In the clinical trial, VAS scores in Group B were significantly lower than in Group A at T 0 (P=0.006), T 4 (P=0.001), T 8 (P=0.002), and T 24 (P=0.005). The tramadol intake in Group B was significantly lower than in Group A (P=0.021). No significant difference was observed regarding the incidence of adverse events between the two groups.
Conclusion:This study demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of intraarterial lidocaine administration using the W/O technique in controlling intra-and post-TACE pain.