The Comparison of the Effects of Esmolol and Lidocaine on Propofol İnjection Pain

Aim: Pain is often experienced when propofol is injected. Lidocaine is often used and most effective agent in preventing the propofol pain injection. In this study we aimed to assess if esmolol given before propofol is as effective as lidocaine in reducing the incidence of the pain. Material and method: Ninety three patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were randomly allocated to three groups to receive either esmolol 20 mg, 0< or lidocaine 20 mg or saline 2ml intravenously before propofol was injected. Then 2 mg/kg propofol at room temperature was injected as 2 ml every 4 seconds. Pain was assessed verbally and scored as none (0), mild (1), moderate (2), severe (3). Results: There was no statistically difference in demographic datas between three groups. In the control group, the incidence of pain (% 77,42) was higher than in the esmolol group (% 32,26) and lidocaine group (% 38,71), and the results were statistically significant (p<0,05). The incidence of pain in the esmolol and lidocaine groups were similar and there was no statistically difference between these two groups (p>0,05). Conclusion: Pretreatment with esmololwas equally as effective as lidocaine in reducing the propofol injection pain. Because of this effect, we thought that esmolol can be used for preventing propofol injection pain in appropriate patients.