Sharma, S., Rajagopal, M.R., Palat, G., Singh, C., Haji, A.G., & Jain, D. (2009). A phase II pilot study to evaluate use of intravenous lidocaine for opioid-refractory pain in cancer patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 37, 85–93.
To determine the magnitude and duration of pain relief in patients receiving IV lidocaine and placebo infusions, to explore the efficacy and potential uses of IV lidocaine for pain relief in opioid-refractory cancer pain, and to evaluate the safety profile, specifically acute side effects
Patients received infusions of lidocaine and placebo in random order with 14 days between the two infusions. Patients were to record their average daily pain score for 14 days after each infusion.
This was a single-site study conducted in India.
This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.
Pain was measured using a numeric analog scale (NAS) ranging from 0–10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being worst imaginable pain.
The average duration of pain relief in this study after a single infusion of lidocaine was 9.34 days.
Further studies are indicated to establish guidelines and investigate the safety profile for the use of IV lidocaine.