Lidocaine for pain relief in palliative care patients, a case series

Abstract

Introduction. Neuropathic pain affects 2 % of the population, and 15 out of 100 patients who go to a physician suffer from neuropathic pain. This type of pain is common in cancer patients. Objective. To determine if the use of lidocaine in intravenous infusion reduces neuropathic pain in palliative care with opioid treatment. Methodology. Case series of three patients in palliative care who presented neuropathic pain and underwent multiple infusions of intravenous lidocaine as an adjuvant for pain management; the doses used and the number of infusions were described, pain improvement was evaluated through the visual analog scale and possible side effects were monitored. Results. Case 1: Visual analogue scale on admission, 9/10; 24 hours post lidocaine infusion: 4/10. Case 2: Visual analogue scale on admission 6/10; 24 hours post lidocaine infusion 2/10. Case 3: Visual analogue scale on admission 8/10; 24 hours post-infusion 2/10. Conclusion. Intravenous infusion of 2 % lidocaine reduced neuropathic pain in the three patients of the study, however, the relief is transitory, and the positive effect is lost over time.