Effect of intravenous lidocaine on heart rate, systolic arterial blood pressure and cough responses to endotracheal intubation in propofol-anaesthetized dogs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of intravenous lidocaine on coughing and variations in heart rate (HR) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) at endotracheal intubation in propofol-anaesthetized dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical study. ANIMALS: Eighty dogs, ASA grades I/II. METHODS: Dogs were randomly assigned to one of two treatments, with dogs in the lidocaine group receiving 1 mg kg(-1) lidocaine intravenously and those in the saline group receiving 0.05 mL kg(-1) saline intravenously before induction of anaesthesia with up to 6.5 mg kg(-1) propofol intravenously. An electrocardiogram was recorded continuously. Heart rate was calculated and SAP (using Doppler ultrasonic flow detection) was recorded at the following time points: pre-treatment, following lidocaine or saline administration, before and after intubation. The occurrence, number and strength of coughs were recorded. Systolic arterial pressure and HR were compared using one-sample t-tests to examine whether SAP and HR changed with test drug administration or following intubation. The number of coughs was compared between groups using t-tests. A cross tabulation and chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used to compare proportions of dogs that coughed and intensity of coughing in each group. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Heart rate did not change in either group. Systolic arterial blood pressure increased following intubation in both the lidocaine (p = 0.003) and saline groups (p = 0.001). There was no difference in the increase in SAP or in the number or intensity of coughs at intubation between groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Intravenous lidocaine had no effect on the occurrence or intensity of coughing or on changes in SAP at endotracheal intubation in dogs anaesthetized with propofol. The use of 1 mg kg(-1) lidocaine intravenously before intubation in dogs to attenuate cough and the pressor response was not supported.