Modification of pain on injection of propofol. A comparison of pethidine and lignocaine.

One hundred and fifty ASA 1 and 2 patients were randomly allocated to receive pethidine 25 mg (1 ml), lignocaine 10 mg (1 ml) or 0.9% saline (1 ml) on a double-blind basis, as pretreatment to reduce pain on injection of propofol. Both active treatments were significantly better than placebo at preventing pain (p < 0.01). Lignocaine was most effective in preventing pain in men (p < 0.05) whilst pethidine was more effective in women (p < 0.05).