A Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Topical Intranasal Lidocaine and Levobupivacaine in Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Binostril Transnasal Transsphenoidal Resection of Pituitary Tumors

INTRODUCTION: Local anesthetic intranasal packing is used in transnasal surgery to reduce hemodynamic fluctuations. We hypothesized that the long acting local anesthetic levobupivacaine would provide superior hemodynamic stability and postoperative analgesia compared with lidocaine in endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal (TNTS) surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind trial, 48 patients undergoing TNTS surgery were allocated to the 2 groups to receive preoperative intranasal packing with 15 mL of 1.5% lidocaine or 0.5% levobupivacaine each mixed with 60 mg ephedrine. Heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were recorded immediately before induction of anesthesia, at various time points throughout surgery, and at tracheal extubation. Bleeding in the surgical field, time to extubation, and postoperative pain were also assessed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in heart rate between the lidocaine and levobupivacaine groups at any point. Mean arterial pressure was also similar between the 2 groups during surgery, whereas at extubation blood pressure was lower in the lidocaine compared with levobupivacaine group (85±10 vs. 96±16 mm Hg; P=0.0010). There were no differences between the 2 groups in the other outcome variables. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative intranasal packing with 1.5% lidocaine or 0.5% levobupivacaine provide similar hemodynamic stability throughout TNTS. Lidocaine packing may be more advantageous for hemodynamic stability during extubation.