Lidocaine alleviates propofol related pain much better than metoprolol and nitroglycerin

Injection pain after propofol administration is common and may disturb patients' comfort. The aim of this study was to compare effectiveness of intravenous (iv) nitroglycerin, lidocaine and metoprolol applied through the veins on the dorsum of hand or antecubital vein on eliminating propofol injection pain.

There were 147 patients and they were grouped according to the analgesic administered. Metoprolol (n=31, Group M), lidocaine (n=32, Group L) and nitroglycerin (n=29, Group N) were applied through iv catheter at dorsum hand vein or antecubital vein. Pain was evaluated by 4 point scale (0 - no pain, 1 - light pain, 2 - mild pain, 3 - severe pain) in 5, 10, 15 and 20th seconds. ASA, BMI, patient demographics, education level and the effect of pathways for injection and location of operations were analyzed for their effect on total pain score.

There were no differences between the groups in terms of total pain score (p=0.981). There were no differences in terms of total pain score depending on ASA, education level, location of operation. However, lidocaine was more effective when compared with metoprolol (p=0.015) and nitroglycerin (p=0.001) among groups. Although neither lidocaine nor metoprolol had any difference on pain management when applied from antecubital or dorsal hand vein (p>0.05), nitroglycerin injection from antecubital vein had demonstrated statistically lower pain scores (p=0.001).

We found lidocaine to be the most effective analgesic in decreasing propofol related pain. We therefore suggest iv lidocaine for alleviating propofol related pain at operations.