Administration of lidocaine by continuous infusion in patients undergoing oncological adnominal surgical procedures

Abstract

Introduction: The intravenous administration of lidocaine for postoperative pain control has gained interest. Its administration in the perioperative period and at a low dose reduces postoperative pain and opioid use.
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of continuous infusion of lidocaine in the treatment of postoperative pain in surgically intervened patients with oncologic abdominal disease.
Methods: A quasiexperimental study was performed in patients undergoing oncologic abdominal surgical procedures and who were given continuous infusion of lidocaine. The pain intensity was then evaluated with the analogue visual scale. This was applied after 30 minutes, two, six, twelve and twenty-four hours after the operation. The presence or absence of intraoperative and postoperative complications was determined.
Results: Patients aged 31-50 prevailed in both groups. The male gender predominated in the study group and the female gender, in the control group. In the study group, the response was not satisfactory only in two patients, while it was satisfactory in 11 patients; in the control group, it was not satisfactory in 5 patients. In the study group, three patients had pain for less than 2 hours and this was classified as mild to moderate. In the control group 12 of them presented pain for more than 4 hours, which was classified as moderate and severe. Adverse effects appeared in two patients.
Conclusions: The administration of lidocaine leads to a decrease in pain and opioid consumption.