Postoperative analgesia induced by subarachnoid lidocaine plus calcitonin

A randomized double-blind study tested the analgesic effects of subarachnoid administration of salmon calcitonin (sCT) in acute postoperative pain. Sixty patients were grouped according to type of surgery (intraabdominal, extraabdominal, and lower extremities), subdivided into those given subarachnoid lidocaine 1 mg/kg plus sCT (100 IU) or lidocaine plus saline. Pain was evaluated by a descriptive scale 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hr after surgery, as well as by the frequency of the patients' requests for postoperative analgesics. In all instances, the sCT-treated patients had significantly less postoperative pain. Similarly, the requests for analgesics was significantly lower or absent in the sCT-treated group. Minor side effects such as nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and "nervousness" were observed in a small number of sCT-treated patients. In our series of 30 patients, subarachnoid administration of sCT was an effective analgesic with minimal side effects. Its safety remains to be proved by further studies.