Continuous Lidocaine Infusion for Management of Perioperative Burn Pain

Thermal injury results in one of the most intense and prolonged forms of pain the body can experience. Opioid narcotics are the most powerful drugs for acute and chronic pain, and their use in the perioperative period has been the mainstay of treatment; although medication requirements in burn patients are often underestimated. More medication may not be the answer, as relatively large doses of short acting opioids in the operative theater are associated with greater postoperative opioid consumption and higher pain scores. Furthermore, extensive use of opioids has resulted in the development of by hyperalgesia and allodynia. Lidocaine is an amide local anesthetic that has analgesic, anti-hyperalgesic, antiarrhythmic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Over the past 25 years, systemic lidocaine has been used for perioperative pain management in a variety of surgical procedures. The design of this study will examine if lidocaine will reduce the pain scores and narcotic utilization in patients undergoing surgical procedures for burn injuries. The intervention group will receive a bolus dose of lidocaine followed by a continuous infusion over 24 hours. The control group will get an equal volume of saline. The investigators will compare pain scores, opioid use, and narcotic equivalents based on body weight and burn surface area (BSA) grafted.