Trial of Intravenous Lidocaine on Painful Neuropathy in Cancer Patients

Abstract

In 10 cancer patients with cutaneous allodynia, intravenous lidocaine (5 mg/dg/ body weight) or 0.9% NaCI was given in a double blind cross-over study to determine the analgesic effect. One patient had complete and one had partial pain relief with lidocaine infusion, whereas three patients experienced partial pain relief with placebo. Neither lidocaine nor placebo reduced pain intensity or consumption of analgesics significantly during the study period. Intravenous infusion of lidocaine cannot be recommended as routine pain treatment in cancer patients with cutaneous allodynia or pain, but further studies are needed to test the effects of lidocaine on different peripheral stimuli