<![CDATA[Background: Propofol is a widely used anesthetic induction agent, yet post-injection pain is a frequent adverse effect. Common strategies to reduce this pain include venous occlusion following lidocaine administration and the admixture of lidocaine with propofol. This study investigates whether lidocaine pretreatment with tourniquet application provides superior pain relief compared to the admixture method. Method: We conducted a single-center, randomized controlled, single-blind trial involving patients scheduled for elective surgery. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either lidocaine pretreatment with tourniquet application (n=15) or a lidocaine-propofol admixture (n=15). The primary outcomes were pain scores and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, while secondary outcomes included heart rate and blood pressure measurements. Result: 30 patients underwent elective surgery in Dr. Moewardi General Hospital between October and November 2023. Post propofol injection, increments in pain severity were observed in both treatment groups. However, lower pain severity was observed in the tourniquet handling group. After injection, moderate and severe CRP levels were recorded in the lidocaine-propofol admixture (33.3% and 6.7%, respectively), whereas no moderate or severe CRP levels were discovered in the tourniquet handling group. The tourniquet handling group experienced less discomfort after propofol injection (3.139 ± 0.743 vs. 4.27±0.704, p=0.001). Lower CRP levels were evaluated in the experimental group (0.279 ± 0.121 to 1.68 ± 2.49, p=0.002). Conclusion: Lidocaine pretreatment with tourniquet occlusion or one minute before delivering propofol as an anesthetic induction agent was more effective than the lidocaine-propofol admixture in relieving pain after propofol injections.]]>
