Pain management of renal colic in the emergency department with intravenous lidocaine.

OBJECTIVE: To describe our experience with intravenous lidocaine (IVL) to manage pain of renal colic origin in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all patients presenting with pain of renal colic origin from the periods of 2014 to 2017 by using the ED electronic medical record database (Allscripts™). RESULTS: Forty-four patients received IVL for renal colic over a three-year period. The average dose of IVL as a primary analgesic was 117.2 mg, and as a rescue was 108 mg. Administration of IVL resulted in a decrease in overall pain score by 6.3 points (numerical rating scale), by 7.4 points when IVL was used as a primary analgesic, and by 5.2 points when IVL was given as a rescue. There were no documented adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Intravenous lidocaine has a potential of being used for patients presenting to the ED with a pain of renal colic origin as a primary analgesic or as a rescue. Although promising, this therapy will need to be studied in prospective randomized fashion and larger patients' population with underlying cardiac disease before it can be recommended for broad use in the ED.