Influence of intraoperative lignocaine infusion on analgesia, stress response, and recovery profile in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized control study

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomies are performed as daycare procedures. Postoperative pain associated with it may need multimodal opioid-free approaches to fast track the recovery. Intraoperative intravenous lignocaine infusion was employed in this study to observe it effect on analgesia, hemodynamic stress response, and recovery profile in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomies. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: This was a randomized placebo-controlled study with enrollment of 64 participants. The “L” group received preservative-free intravenous lignocaine 2% at 1.5 mg/kg bolus followed by continuous infusion at a rate of 1.5 mg/kg/h till skin closure. The “C” group received equal amounts of normal saline. No significant statistical difference was observed between the two groups with time to first analgesic, total analgesic consumption, and visual analog scale scores. No significant difference was seen with sedation, time to achieve modified Aldrete score, and time to return of bowel activity. Only significant difference in heart rate was observed in lignocaine group after intubation with no effects on mean arterial pressure. CONCLUSION: Lignocaine infusion did not prove any added benefits in terms of postoperative analgesia, opioid requirements, and functional recovery after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Hemodynamic stress response were better maintained in lignocaine group. Bolus dose of lignocaine may prove beneficial and equipotent as fentanyl.