The efficacy of lidocaine to prevent laryngospasm in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis*

Summary The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the efficacy of lidocaine in preventing laryngospasm during general anaesthesia in children. An electronic search of six databases was conducted. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were adhered to. We included randomised controlled trials reporting the effects of intravenous and/or topical lidocaine on the incidence of laryngospasm during general anaesthesia. Nine studies including 787 patients were analysed. The combined results demonstrated that lidocaine is effective in preventing laryngospasm (risk ratio (RR) 0.39, 95% CI 0.24–0.66; I2 = 0). Subgroup analysis revealed that both intravenous lidocaine (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14–0.82) and topical lidocaine (RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.22–0.80) lidocaine are effective in preventing laryngospasm. The results were not affected by studies with a high risk of bias. We conclude that, both topical and intravenous lidocaine are effective for preventing laryngospasm in children.