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| CASE REPORT |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 28
| Issue : 1 | Page : 42-43 |
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Beneficial effect of intravenous nitroglycerin and lidocaine in severe pain due to acute arterial occlusion
Helen Gharaei1, Farnad Imani2
1 Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Boali Hospital, Tehran Azad University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Anesthesiology and Pain, Rasoul-Akram Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
| Date of Web Publication | 15-Mar-2014 |
Correspondence Address:
Helen Gharaei
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Boali Hospital, Damavand St, Tehran
Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0970-5333.128893
This is a case report of a patient (man, 65 year, 70 kg) with severe abdominal and lower extremity pain. Diagnostic methods including color Doppler ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) with contrast, and CT angiography showed thrombosis in abdominal artery near bifurcation of superior mesenteric artery. His pain did not respond to abdominal thromboembolectomy and intravenous injection of heparin and then opioid and acetaminophen. After continuous infusion of lidocaine and nitroglycerin, pain decrease about 20% and after 48 h, it decreases to 80%. This method may be a good option for pain management of acute ischemic pain due to acute arterial occlusion. Keywords: Acute arterial occlusion, lidocaine, nitroglycerin
How to cite this article:
Gharaei H, Imani F. Beneficial effect of intravenous nitroglycerin and lidocaine in severe pain due to acute arterial occlusion. Indian J Pain 2014;28:42-3 |
How to cite this URL:
Gharaei H, Imani F. Beneficial effect of intravenous nitroglycerin and lidocaine in severe pain due to acute arterial occlusion. Indian J Pain [serial online] 2014 [cited 2022 Aug 12];28:42-3. Available from: https://www.indianjpain.org/text.asp?2014/28/1/42/128893 |
| Introduction | |  |
Acute arterial occlusion is sudden cutoff of blood flow in a limb that can be a threat to limb viability and is often with severe pain. Abdominal acute arterial occlusion is an internal emergency because it can be a threat to limb's viability and it usually origins from the heart. [1]
Diagnostic methods for acute arterial occlusion including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scan, and angiography. Ischemic pain is a nociceptive pain and nonsteroidal ant-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioid are the most common medical therapy. Sometimes severe pain does not respond to these therapies. Acute ischemia of limb can result in highly dysfunction, amputation (30%) and death (20%). [2]
| Case Report | | |
The patient was a 65-year-old man and weighted 70 kg. He was urgently hospitalized with symptoms of sudden abdominal pain, severe bilateral lower extremity pain (visual analog scale (VAS) for pain score = 10) [Figure 1] with paresthesia and delirium. In physical examination, the left ankle was pale, cold, and tender with no arterial pulse and was cyanotic, but with normal motor function. In the right lower limb, the distal part was cold and cyanotic, with no pulse and movement. He had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and alcoholism. Diagnostic methods including color Doppler ultrasound, CT with contrast, and CT angiography showed thrombosis in abdominal artery near bifurcation of superior mesenteric artery [Figure 2]. Therefore, emergency ambolectomy was performed. After removal of a 15 cm clot, heparin therapy was started. Echocardiography, perfusion scanning, and electrocardiology were normal. He did not appropriately response to medical therapy including NSAIDs and intravenous (IV) meperidine. Then IV analgesic infusion including fentanyl (20 μg/h) and acetaminophen (100 μg/h) was started. On the 2 nd day, pain score remained high (VAS = 8), so the dose of fentanyl was doubled (40 μg/h). On the 3 rd day, he was still suffering from a lot of pain (VAS = 8). After getting oral informed patient consent, we decided to add lidocaine (45 mg/h) and nitroglycerin (45 μg/h) infusion to above treatment. After 24 h, the patient was satisfied with 20% decrease in the pain and after 48 h the pain decreased to 80%. After 5 days, pulse and the color of left distal lower limb were back to normal. Overall the patient was very satisfied.
| Discussion | | |
Since lidocaine and nitroglycerin infusion had a positive effect of 80% decrease in pain, this method may be a good option for pain management of acute ischemic pain due to acute arterial occlusion. In therapeutic dosage, lidocaine beside analgesic effects is also a vasodilator that block sodium channel which are involved in neuropathic pain. [3] Lidocaine, by having effects on collagen secretion, lymphocyte traffic, cytokine production or release, and neutrophil and macrophage activation; decreases chronic inflammation. Part of vasodilatation effects of lidocaine and analgesic effects of nitroglycerin is through the release of nitric oxide which increases peripheral blood flow. [4],[5],[6] Nitric oxide increases intercellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate concentration and modulates pain in the central and peripheral nervous systems. [7] Adding nitroglycerin to lidocaine in IV regional analgesia shortens the start time of blockage and tourniquet postoperative pain. Nitroglycerin increases the vasodilator effects of lidocaine. [8],[9] Decreasing acute ischemic pain due to arterial occlusion has to be focused on increasing blood flow and decreasing the ischemic pain. So, regards to the mentioned mechanism and vasodilation and analgesia effects of lidocaine and nitroglycerin, choosing these drugs in order to decrease the pain due to acute arterial occlusion, can be a right choice.
| References | | |
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[Figure 1], [Figure 2]
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