The efficacy of 2% Lidocaine gel in pain relieving of episiotomy: A double-blind randomized trial

Objective: episiotomy is the most common obstetric surgical and discomfort and pain is a common experience for all women exposed to episiotomy. this study was performed to investigate the efficacy of lidocaine gel 2% in pain relieving after episiotomy. methodology: in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 150 women who had episiotomy were selected and received 5cc lidocaine gel 2% or a placebo every four hours after episiotomy repair. then pain ratings were recorded before the administration of the drugs and at 6 and 12 hour after the first dose, according to a numerical rating scale. data were analyzed using the unpaired t- test, and the pearson (χ2) test. a p value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant. results: women using lidocaine gel had lower average pain scores, although this only reached statistical significance at 12 hours after delivery (p =0.009). mean pain score at this time was 2.63 ± 2.01 in lidocaine group and 3.6 ± 2.4 in placebo group. also there was a significant difference between two group in consumption of analgesia in postpartum (p=0.034). there weren’t any adverse effect with lidocaine gel uses. conclusions: this study suggested that lidocaine gel is a safe and simple drug that may be effective for episiotomy pain relief on first day of postpartum