Lidocaine and Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Review Article

CONTEXT: In the present review, the analgesic effects of lidocaine in acute or chronic painful conditions in the emergency department are discussed. Lidocaine, as a medium-acting local anesthetic with short onset time, is well-recognized, not only as a valuable medication for numerous neuropathic pain conditions, but also for the management of both acute and chronic pain. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Research studies related to the different applications of lidocaine in the emergency department were collected from different databases including Cochrane library, Medline (Ovid) and PubMed. The pooled data were categorized, summarized and finally compared. RESULTS: Our study revealed that lidocaine is broadly used in various therapeutic approaches for different types of pain, such as visceral/central pain, renal colic etc., in the emergency department. CONCLUSIONS: The antinociceptive properties of lidocaine are derived from multifaceted mechanisms, turning it into a medication that is safe to administer via different routes which makes it available for use in a variety of medical conditions.