Effect of Intraoperative Intravenous Lidocaine on Postoperative Pain and Return of Bowel Function After Cesarean Sections

Postoperative discomfort is a frequently seen adverse event after to caesarean operation. Early mobilization and bonding of the mother and her infant are typically impacted by this phenomenon.

Nevertheless, the current state of postoperative analgesia and recovery remains inadequate in clinical settings. In the context of major abdominal surgery, opioids are often regarded as the preferred postoperative analgesic. Nevertheless, they possess adverse side effects that might impact the process of recuperation after surgery. These symptoms include nausea and vomiting, decreased bowel movement, and shallow breathing.

One additional challenging consequence after surgery is the delayed restoration of bowel function, which has the potential to extend the duration of hospitalization and impede the initiation of oral feeding, resulting in gaseous colonic distension.

The administration of lidocaine infusion has been shown to possess analgesic, anti-hyperalgesic, and anti-inflammatory characteristics.

The use of intravenous lidocaine after surgery is postulated to have the dual effect of mitigating postoperative pain and expediting the resumption of bowel movements.

Recent studies have shown that the administration of intravenous lidocaine, either as a single dosage or by continuous infusion, may have potential advantages in maintaining gastrointestinal motility and exerting an impact on biochemical pain mechanisms.

However, the literature presents contradictory data about the effectiveness of lidocaine in providing sufficient postoperative pain relief and reducing postoperative ileus.

Consequently, this study was conducted and aimed to assess the effect of intravenous intraoperative lidocaine on postoperative pain and early return of bowel function following elective caesarean section.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted at Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University Hospitals from August till December 2023. A total of 60 pregnant women underwent elective caesarean section were enrolled and randomized into two groups; experimental group who received IV infusion of lidocaine starting with skin incision, which was maintained until skin closure and control group who received 0.9% normal saline at the same rate as that described in the experimental group. Both groups were compared as regard total operative time, medications given, start-stop time of the study drug infusion, and degree of pain using visual analogue scale, need for analgesics, time for first healing of normal intestinal sounds and time to first flatus and symptoms of lidocaine toxicity were recorded.