Effects of intravenous lignocaine, dexamethasone and their combination on propofol-induced pain

Injection of propofol may provoke pain in up to 70 percent of the patients. In this randomized, double-blind study, the effects of lignocaine, dexamethasone and a combination of both on propofol-induced pain were evaluated in 90 surgical patients. The highest incidence of pain found was in the lignocaine group (70%) and the lowest in the combination group (30%). The combined pretreatment also showed significantly reduced mean pain scores (p < 0.01). The combination of lignocaine-dexamethasone was best effective and this might be embraced in reducing propofol-induced pain.