A comparison of the effects of intraoperative esmolol and lidocaine infusions on postoperative analgesia

Objective: in this study,we aimed to compare the effects of intraoperative esmolol,lidocaine and saline infusions on postoperative pain and opioid requirement in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. method: in this prospective randomized study 48 asa physical status i-ii patients were enrolled. patients received an intravenous (iv) injection of 1 mg kg-1 esmolol (group e),1.5 mg kg-1 lidocaine (group l) or 10 mcg remifentanyl (group c) prior to the induction of anesthesia. throughout surgery patients were infused with 50 meg kg-1 min-1 esmolol (iv,group e) or 2 mg kg-1 min-1 lidocaine (iv,group l) or 10ml h-1 saline (group c). visual analog scale (vas) in the postoperative 24 hours total fentanyl consumption and adverse drug events were recorded. results: fentanyl consumption in the post-anesthesia care unit (pacu) was 50±11 mcg for group e,75±18 mcg for group l and 100±27 mcg for group c (p<0.05). in the postoperative 24 hours patients in group e consumed significantly less fentanyl than those in group l and c (p=0.000). conclusion: esmolol infusion decreased opioid consumption during the 24-h postoperative period more effectively than lidocaine infusion and saline. also esmolol might be a useful adjuvant for early recovery of bowel functions.