An interventional study of Lidocaine and Normal Saline in Lumbar Fusion Surgery, sponsored by Ankara City Hospital Bilkent. Recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-25.
Sponsored by Ankara City Hospital Bilkent · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Elective lumbar fusion surgery is associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain and often requires substantial perioperative opioid administration. Excessive opioid use may lead to adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, sedation, respiratory depression, and delayed mobilization. Intravenous lidocaine infusion has been proposed as part of multimodal analgesia because of its analgesic, antihyperalgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties.
This randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial aims to evaluate the effect of intraoperative intravenous lidocaine infusion on postoperative opioid consumption and early recovery outcomes in patients undergoing elective lumbar fusion surgery. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either intravenous lidocaine infusion or placebo during surgery.
The primary outcome is cumulative postoperative opioid consumption within the first 24 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes include intraoperative opioid consumption, postoperative pain scores, time to first rescue analgesic, quality of recovery, postoperative nausea and vomiting, time to mobilization, and length of hospital stay. In addition, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers including interleukin-6 (IL-6) and markers of thiol-disulfide homeostasis will be measured preoperatively and postoperatively.
Lumbar fusion surgery is frequently associated with significant postoperative pain and often requires high doses of opioid analgesics during the perioperative period. Opioid administration may lead to several adverse effects including postoperative nausea and vomiting, sedation, respiratory depression, and delayed recovery. Therefore, multimodal analgesia strategies are increasingly used to improve postoperative pain control and reduce opioid requirements.
Intravenous lidocaine infusion has gained attention as an adjunct component of multimodal analgesia because of its analgesic, antihyperalgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Previous clinical studies have suggested that perioperative systemic lidocaine may reduce postoperative pain intensity, decrease opioid consumption, and improve recovery after surgery. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness in patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery remains limited.
This prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study will include adult patients aged 18 years or older with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-III who are scheduled for elective lumbar fusion surgery. Participants will be randomly allocated into two groups. Patients in the lidocaine group will receive an intravenous lidocaine bolus followed by continuous lidocaine infusion during surgery, whereas patients in the control group will receive an equivalent volume of normal saline infusion. The infusion will be maintained throughout the surgical procedure and discontinued at the end of surgery.
All patients will receive standardized general anesthesia and postoperative multimodal analgesia. Postoperative pain will be assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). Rescue analgesia will be administered when clinically indicated.
The primary outcome is cumulative postoperative opioid consumption within the first 24 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes include intraoperative opioid consumption, postoperative pain scores at predefined time points, time to first rescue analgesic requirement, postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence, quality of recovery measured by QoR-15, post-anesthesia care unit length of stay, time to mobilization, and hospital length of stay.
In addition, inflammatory and oxidative stress responses associated with surgery and lidocaine administration will be evaluated. Blood samples will be collected preoperatively and at 6 and 24 hours postoperatively to measure interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and markers of thiol-disulfide homeostasis.
5,640 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Postoperative; 1,230 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 110 is above the median of 75 across 4,821 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Postoperative.
Browse Pain, Postoperative studies →Ankara City Hospital Bilkent is the lead sponsor of 443 studies on the registry; 111 are open to participants now.
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The criteria were revised on the registry on Sep 25, 2026. See what changed
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
ASA physical status
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients in this group will receive continuous intravenous lidocaine infusion at a rate of 2 mg/kg/h throughout the surgical procedure following induction of general anesthesia. The infusion will be discontinued at the end of surgery. All patients will receive standardized general anesthesia and postoperative multimodal analgesia.
Drug: Lidocaine
Patients in this group will receive an intravenous infusion of normal saline at an equivalent rate throughout the surgical procedure following induction of general anesthesia. The infusion will be discontinued at the end of surgery. All patients will receive standardized general anesthesia and postoperative multimodal analgesia.
Drug: Normal Saline
Continuous intravenous lidocaine infusion will be administered during lumbar fusion surgery at a rate of 2 mg/kg/h following induction of general anesthesia. The infusion will be maintained throughout the surgical procedure and discontinued at the end of surgery.
An intravenous infusion of normal saline (0.9% sodium chloride) will be administered at an equivalent rate during surgery following induction of general anesthesia. The infusion will be maintained throughout the surgical procedure and discontinued at the end of surgery.
Cumulative postoperative opioid consumption within the first 24 hours after surgery
Cumulative opioid consumption during the first 24 postoperative hours will be evaluated. Rescue analgesia will be administered as intravenous tramadol (100 mg) when the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score is ≥4. The cumulative tramadol dose administered during this period will be recorded in milligrams (mg).
Time frame: 0 to 24 hours after surgery
Intraoperative remifentanil consumption
Cumulative remifentanil consumption during surgery will be recorded in micrograms (µg).
Time frame: From induction of anesthesia to the end of surgery
Postoperative pain intensity
Postoperative pain intensity will be assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS; 0 = no pain, 10 = worst imaginable pain).
Time frame: At arrival in the post-anesthesia care unit and at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery
Time to first rescue analgesic requirement
Time from the end of surgery to the first administration of rescue intravenous tramadol will be recorded.
Time frame: Within the first 24 hours after surgery
Quality of recovery
Quality of recovery will be evaluated using the Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) questionnaire, a validated patient-reported outcome measure assessing postoperative recovery. The total score ranges from 0 to 150, with higher scores indicating better postoperative recovery.
Time frame: Preoperative baseline and 24 hours after surgery
Postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence
The incidence of postoperative nausea and/or vomiting and the requirement for rescue antiemetic treatment will be recorded.
Time frame: 0-24 hours after surgery
Post-anesthesia care unit length of stay
Duration of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit will be recorded in minutes.
Time frame: Immediate postoperative period (up to 24 hours after surgery)
Time to mobilization
Time from the end of surgery to the first mobilization will be recorded.
Time frame: Up to 24 hours after surgery
Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels
Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels will be measured to evaluate the inflammatory response.
Time frame: Preoperatively and at 6 and 24 hours after surgery
Thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters
Native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels will be measured to evaluate oxidative stress and thiol-disulfide homeostasis.
Time frame: Preoperatively and at 6 and 24 hours after surgery
Length of hospital stay
Total duration of hospitalization will be recorded in days.
Time frame: Through hospital discharge, an average of 5 days
Plan to share: No — No plan to share individual participant data.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Apr 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2027, 9 months after the start.
Of 2,089 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Pain, Postoperative, half reached primary completion within 11 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 23. This study's planned 9 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 2,102 studies reached it within 11 months; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 23.
Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Sep 25, 2026: primary completion Nov 2026 → Jan 2027 and completion Jan 2027 → Mar 2027.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Studies of the drug tested here: Lidocaine
Ankara City Hospital Bilkent →