Comparison of three methods of Valsalva maneuver, lidocaine, and Valsalva maneuvers along with administration of lidocaine to reduce the pain associated with administration of Propofol

Propofol is commonly used in anesthesia practice because of its rapid recovery time, but pain upon injection is one of the unfavorable complications of this drug, which can cause both physical and mental discomfort for patients. Therefore, it is important to lower the pain on injection of Propofol in patients undergoing anesthesia. As a result, the current study was conducted in order to compare the effects of lidocaine, lidocaine, and the Valsalva maneuver, and the Valsalva maneuver on decreasing the pain of Propofol injection.

 This study is a clinical trial with 111 patients. The patients were allocated into 3 groups with one group receiving lidocaine, the second group receiving lidocaine and the Valsalva maneuver , and Valsalva maneuver. The pain resulting from injecting Propofol based upon the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score was evaluated (with 1 being no pain and 10 the most severe imaginable pain). Data were compared and analysed using proper statistical tests using SPSS version 23.

 The mean pain score in the combination group of lidocaine and Valsalva maneuver was lower than the other two groups and was equal to 0.5 ± 0.33. In addition, the mean pain scores in the lidocaine group and the Valsalva maneuver group were 4.6 ± 1.41 and7.81±1/91, respectively. The mean pain intensity in the age groups and the sexes did not show a significant difference with each other.

 The current study showed that the injection of Propofol in the three groups of the study was reduced in a similar fashion, however in the group which combined lidocaine, Valsalva, and the Valsalva maneuver, pain was lowest, but the overall score in the three groups was not statistically different.