Effects of Dexmedetomidine and Lidocaine in Alleviating Propofol Injection Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: Propofol, an intravenous (IV) anesthetic, can irritate the skin, mucous membrane, and venous intima. The main drawback is the pain on injecting it. We compared the analgesic effects of lidocaine, dexmedetomidine, and saline (placebo) in ameliorating propofol injection pain. Materials and Methods: Following the approval of the hospital's Ethics Committee, 105 adult patients of both sexes [aged 18-70 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I and II] were divided into three groups (n = 35) to receive 5 ml of IV saline (placebo), 0.25 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine, and 0.5 μg/kg of lidocaine diluted in 5 ml of saline at an ambient operating room temperature in a randomized and double blinded fashion to compare the pain-relieving effects of the drugs during propofol injection before the patients lost consciousness. The propofol injection pain was assessed according to the McCrirrick and Hunter scale. Result: Dexmedetomidine (as seen in 62.86% of the patients) and lidocane (as seen in 80% of the patients) had complete pain relief as compared to placebo. Conclusion: Pretreatment with 0.25 µg/kg of dexmedetomidine with venous occlusion for one min is also as effective as IV lidocaine pretreatment in alleviating propofol injection pain when compared to placebo, even though lidocaine is better than dexmedetomidine.