Effects of Intravenous Lidocaine on Transperitoneal Laparoscopic Urological Surgery: A Prospective, Randomised, Placebo Controlled, Double-blind, Phase III Study

Effective perioperative analgesia is the key to postoperative rehabilitation. It has been suggested that a decrease in postoperative pain and opioid use ameliorates the return of normal bowel function after general surgery. Conventional analgesic treatment involves the use of intravenous, oral and transdermal formulations of drugs. Repetitive administration is required for sustained pain relief. Common side effects (postoperative nausea and vomiting, postoperative ileus) of these analgesics may have a detrimental effect on postoperative recovery and led to a prolonged hospital stay. An intriguing body of evidence suggests that short-term administration of intravenous lidocaine may produce pain relief that by far exceeds both the duration of the infusion and the half-life of the drug thus reducing concomitant analgesic medication can be reduced and its side effects enabling a more rapid postoperative recovery with less complications. Lidocaine is a commonly used local anesthetic and an antiarrythmic agent. It has been shown to preserve neuroelectric function in animal experiments. Intraoperative administration of lidocaine in a standard antiarrythmic dose has been shown to decrease the occurrence of cognitive dysfunction in the early postoperative period after coronary artery bypass surgery. Lidocaine can induce a significant re-duction of several components of chronic pain in patients with poststroke or spinal cord injury related pain. Sodium channel blockers (e.g. lidocaine) are approved for intravenous administration in the treat-ment of neuropathic pain states. In addition lidocaine has anti-inflammatory properties and preclinical studies have suggested antihyperalgesic effects on the peripheral and central nervous system. Lidocaine decreases the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of inhaled anesthetics and has been used clinically to reduce the requirements for other anesthetic drugs. IV application of lidocaine is said to decrease the duration of bowel dysfunction and postoperative pain intensity.

We hypothesise that i.v. application of lidocaine in a standard antiarrythmic dose can significantly improve acute rehabilitation after laparoscopic urological surgery and so shorten the hospital stay. We expect that the intraoperative inflammatory response can significantly be reduced.