Intravenous Lidocaine as a Suppressant of Coughing during Tracheal Intubation

Effects of intravenously administered lidocaine on cough suppression during tracheal intubation under general anesthesia were evaluated in two studies. In study 1, 100 patients received either a placebo or 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 mg/kg lidocaine intravenously 1 min before tracheal intubation. All visible coughs were classified as coughing. The incidence of coughing decreased as the dose of lidocaine increased. A dose of 1 mg/kg or more of intravenous lidocaine suppressed the cough reflex significantly (P less than 0.01). Coughing was suppressed completely by 2 mg/kg of intravenous lidocaine. In study 2, 108 patients received 2 mg/kg lidocaine intravenously or a placebo 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, or 15 min before intubation. The same criteria for determining whether a patient did or did not cough during tracheal intubation were used as in study 1. The incidence of coughing decreased significantly (P less than 0.01) when 2 mg/kg of lidocaine was injected intravenously between 1 and 5 min before our attempting intubation. Cough reflex was suppressed completely by plasma concentrations of lidocaine in excess of 3 micrograms/ml.