Garzon-Rodriguez, C., Casals Merchan, M., Calsina-Berna, A., Lopez-Romboli, E., & Porta-Sales, J. (2013). Lidocaine 5% patches as an effective short-term co-analgesic in cancer pain. Preliminary results. Supportive Care in Cancer, 21, 3153–3158.
To evaluate the short-term efficacy of lidocaine 5% patches for pain scars and pain caused by chest wall tumors
Patients seen in the palliative care outpatient clinic were included. They were instructed to apply up to a maximum of three patches at a time to cover the painful area for 12 hours each day. All patients had to have pain with a neuropathic component plus allodynia.
Mean duration of treatment was 29.2 days (range 3–90). Five patients discontinued in less than 10 days because of lack of efficacy. At the end of follow-up, pain scores declined by an average of two points (p < .05). Rating of breakthrough pain level declined significantly (p < .05).
Findings suggest that lidocaine patches might be helpful for some patients with pain from scarring and chest wall tumors, but the study had multiple limitations and findings lack strong support for the intervention.
Lidocaine patches might be of some help for patients with certain types of pain that are well localized and superficial. Although findings of this study were somewhat positive, the evidence is weak and this report has numerous limitations. Further well-designed, larger studies need to be done.