Systemic lidocaine in the management of acute perioperative pain

초록

Acute perioperative pain remains a major concern. Inadequate pain control can lead to serious consequences, including delay of wound healing, prolonged hospital stay, postoperative ileus, and adverse events related to excessive analgesic use. Opioids are the traditional mainstay for postoperative pain management. However, the use of opioids can be associated with respiratory depression, sedation, postoperative nausea and vomiting, postoperative ileus and urinary retention. Recent data also suggests that opioids may induce hyperalgesia. An alternative approach to manage acute postoperative pain as well as to reduce the complications related to opioid use is systemic administration of lidocaine. A number of studies have suggested that systemic lidocaine can be used as an adjuvant therapy for postoperative analgesia. Therefore, we review the role of systemic lidocaine in the management of acute perioperative pain. © 2014 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.