The value of topical lignocaine for bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia.

Patients for bronchoscopy were randomly allocated to two groups, one receiving 4 ml 4% lignocaine spray and a control group which was not sprayed. There were no significant differences in the incidence of cough and spasm on recovery between the groups. The findings of a double-blind study comparing patients sprayed with 0-9% saline or lignocaine showed a significantly higher incidence of spasm in the saline group.