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| |  DG DISPATCH - CHEST: Lidocaine Improves Outcome Of Acute Asthma Attacks By Margaret Pearson Special to DG News CHICAGO, IL -- November 2, 1999 -- Lidocaine is a topical anesthetic commonly used for controlling the cough reflex and bronchospasm during bronchoscopy. There have been reports of lidocaine inhalation having beneficial effects on asthma, especially in those chronic patients who are steroid dependent.
Dr. William Marino and his associates at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, on Bronx, N.Y., compared the effects of inhaled lidocaine and of the commonly used treatment, inhaled albuterol, in patients with acute asthma attacks. Dr. Marino presented the findings of this study yesterday (Nov. 1) at the American College of Chest Physician meeting, in Chicago, IL. The mechanism for asthma symptoms lies in part with the nociceptors -- peripheral receptors for pain -- such as the pain and cough receptors found in the airways. In the asthmatic airways, the underlying cough receptors are stimulated by airborne irritants which cause a hyperactive cough. In Dr. Marino’s single blind study, 14 patients with acute asthma were each given one inhalation treatment of albuterol alone and the other of albuterol with lidocaine four hours apart. Pulmonary function tests were performed immediately after administration of the treatment and after 15, 45 and 240 minutes. The peak percent changes from baseline in the pulmonary function tests were all significantly higher following treatment with lidocaine plus albuterol inhalation. The researchers concluded that both the magnitude and duration of albuterol’s effects may be enhanced by concomitant lidocaine inhalation. Nebulized lidocaine may be a useful adjunct to beta agonist inhalation in treating acute asthma attacks, they said.
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