The effect of bilateral intrapleural infusion of lidocaine with fentanyl versus only lidocaine in relieving pain after coronary artery bypasses surgery

Background and Objective: Pain control during surgery in order to cause analgesia and reduce the somatic and autonomic response may decrease the morbidity. Intrapleural catheter embedding during surgery under direct vision of surgeon is safe and easy and without potential risk of thoracic epidural block. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bilateral intrapleural infusion of lidocaine with fentanyl versus only lidocaine in relieving pain after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Methods: In this prospective randomized double blind clinical trial,130 adult patients undergoing elective CABG with age range of 20 to 60 years were divided into two groups receiving either lidocaine and fentanyl (group A) or lidocaine (group B). The analgesia was evaluated every two hours in all intubated and non-intubated patients using Visual analog scale (VAS) and data were analyzed using SPSS software package.

Results: Of all patients, 67 (51.5%) were males and 63 (48.5%) were females. The average age of subjects was 53.49 ± 5.099 years. Mean pain score six hours after the surgery was statistically different between the groups at all times.

Conclusion: The pain in patients receiving combination of lidocaine and fentanyl is less than patients receiving only lidocaine.