In females undergoing cesarean section, a 5% lidocaine patch was found to decrease pain scores than a placebo in the initial 36 hours following surgery. However, it did not affect rescue opioid intake, quality of recovery, or occurrence of adverse effects.

This double-blind, prospective, randomized study was carried to assess the analgesic effects of lidocaine patch in 72 women with acute post-surgery pain after cesarean section.

Participants scheduled for cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were randomly allocated to either intervention or placebo group. As per the allocated group, lidocaine or placebo patch was used 1 cm above and below pfannenstiel incision following the operation. The pain score assessed utilizing an 11-point numerical verbal scale in the initial 36 hours after surgery was the main endpoint.

The quality of recovery 24 hours following surgery, presence of adverse effects, and intake of opioids were the secondary endpoints. The study was completed by 65 participants. The lidocaine group exhibited decreased pain scores at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 36 h after surgery, as shown in table 1:

No differences were noted in secondary endpoints during follow-up. Thus, lidocaine seems to be an effective pain-relieving agent after cesarean section.