Preoperative analgesia with local lidocaine infiltration for post cesarean delivery pain management

Objective: To evaluate the impact of local lidocaine incision-site injection in patients undergoing cesarean deliveries (CD), on post operative pain and analgesic requirements. Study design: In this prospective, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, patients undergoing elective CD were randomly assigned to receive 1% lidocaine solution or placebo to the incision site, prior to the performance of a Pfannenstiel incision. Pain intensity was evaluated for up to 48 hours after surgery and analgesic requirements of the patients were recorded. Results: During the study period, 153 patients were enrolled; 77 received pre-emptive analgesia with lidocaine and 76 received a placebo. No significant differences were noted between the groups in respect to parity, previous CD, maternal age and gestational age. Pain scores or requirements of analgesia did not differ between the groups. Conclusion: Pre-emptive analgesia with local incision-site injection with lidocaine does not seem beneficial in reducing post cesarean pain scores and analgesic requirements.