Efficacy of intravenous acetaminophen and lidocaine on propofol injection pain

Background: Propofol injection pain is one of the significant drawbacks to its use as an intravenous (IV) anesthetic induction agent so this study has been undertaken to compare the efficacy of IV acetaminophen and lidocaine on propofol injection pain. Materials and Methods: After obtaining Institutional Ethical Committee approval, ninety adult patients of ages 18–60 years of both sexes and American Society of Anaesthesiologist I and II who underwent elective surgery from September 2013 to September 2015 in the Tertiary Care Hospital, Imphal, were randomly allocated to one of the three groups to receive 10 ml saline (Group 1), 40 mg lidocaine (loxicard) in 10 ml saline (Group 2) and acetaminophen 100 mg (10 ml) (Group 3) to compare the pain efficacy during propofol injection into the large dorsal vein on the left hand. Pain was assessed with a verbal rating scale. Results: It was observed that the number of patients experiencing pain was 20 (66.67%), i.e., mild: moderate: severe - 11 (36.67%): 6 (20%): 3 (10%) in Group 1, in Group 2 the incidence was 2 (6.67%) i.e., mild: moderate: severe - 2 (6.67%): 0: 0, and in Group 3 it was 6 (20%) i.e., mild: moderate: severe - 5 (16.67%): 1 (3.33%): 0, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: IV acetaminophen and lidocaine could significantly reduce pain during propofol injection with a significant P< 0.001.