The effect of Lidocaine and Dexamethasone on reducing phlebitis caused by chemotherapy

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of Lidocaine and Dexamethasone on reducing phlebitis caused by chemotherapy in cancer patients.Methods Totally 150 patients with chemotherapy for more than 3 times were randomly divided into two groups,the treatment group (n =75) and the control group (n =75).Treatment group was used lidocaine 2ml and dexamethasone 5mg by intravenous infusion,while control group was smeared with Hirudoid along the puncture vein.The incidence of phlebitis after chemotherapy were monitored.Results The incidence of phlebitis and the levels of pain were significantly lower as compared to the control group (14.66％ vs 33.33％,13.33％ vs 34.66; both P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Using Lidocaine and Dexamethasone can obviously decrease the phlebitis caused by chemotherapy. Key words: Lidocaine; Dexamethasone; Chemotherapy ; Phlebitis