Intraurethral lidocaine use during urodynamics in female patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Pain and discomfort may occur in catheterization during a urodynamic examination. A lidocaine gel combined with a water-based lubricant is sometimes used to reduce pain during catheterization. Several studies claimed that intraurethral lidocaine administration could cause inaccurate urodynamic parameters results. However, its definite effects in urodynamics testing on humans are still not clear. We aimed to evaluate the effects of intraurethral lidocaine on pain and urodynamic study parameters in patients undergoing an invasive urodynamic examination. A systematic search adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was performed in the MEDLINE, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The bias of the studies is evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool by two independent reviewers. The analyses of continuous outcomes were displayed as mean difference (MD), whereas odds ratio is used to analyze dichotomous data. Heterogeneity between studies is determined using the I2 value. A total of three RCTs out of 622 discovered that articles were eligible for analysis. Forest plot analysis of the mean visual analogue scale difference of the studies indicated an insignificant difference between the lidocaine and placebo group (MD -7.68; 95% CI -34.04 to -18.68, P ¼ .57). All urodynamic parameter results were also similar between the two groups (P > .05). Routine intraurethral lidocaine injection prior to a urodynamic study does not affect pain intensity and urodynamic parameters.