Zeitschrift für Anästhesiologie und Schmerzforschung

Aim: The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of lidocaine and ketamine infusion on pain relief in patients with neuropathic noncancer pain and fibromyalgia, as well as on their quality of life, depression, and anxiety.

Method: 156 patients who had been diagnosed with neuropathic pain and/or fibromyalgia agreed to participate, and 7 standard questionnaires were used.

Results: The results of our investigation have proven that simultaneous IV lidocaine and ketamine infusion is a safe and effective intervention for any chronic neuropathic pain patient who did not respond at all to trials of conventional drug therapy (oral medications that are approved for the treatment of neuropathic pain), or when the obtained relief was not sufficient, or resulted in too many side effects.