Intraureteric topical anaesthesia with lidocaine prior to double-pig tail ureteric stent insertion

A prospective randomized double-blind study was performed on 46 patients to assess the efficacy of intraureteric anaesthesia with topical lidocaine prior to the insertion of double-pig tail ureteric stents. The patients were assigned to receive 10 ml of 2% lidocaine or 10 ml of saline (0.9% sodium chloride) injected into the ureter through a ureteric catheter. The surgeon and the anaesthetist then recorded their impression of the pain according to a three level scale and the patient's need for extra sedation or the conversion to general anaesthesia. The patients were asked to assess the severity of discomfort. The majority of the patients in the two groups were comfortable during the procedure or felt mild to moderate discomfort. Two patients from the saline group and one patient from the lidocaine group had to be given general anaesthesia. We found the use of intraureteric lidocaine topical anaesthesia to be of no benefit in double-pig tail ureteric stent insertion. The procedure could be performed with intramuscular or intravenous analgesia without the need of general anaesthesia. Lidocaine will be absorbed through the ureteric wall.