Effect of Lidocaine 2% on Bacterial Culture of Bronchial Fluid.

Objective: To evaluate the action of 2% lidocaine on the culture results of bronchial fluid in patients suspected of having lower respiratory tract infections. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Yazd, Iran, from November 2014 to November 2015. Methodology: Patients suspected of lower respiratory tract infections referred to bronchoscopy unit of the Hospital were included. Those with incomplete questionnaire and bronchoscopy contraindication were excluded. Bronchial fluid was aspirated before and after local application of 2% lidocaine and cultured, according to the suspected clinical diagnosis. Finally, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 17.0. For statistical comparisons, McNemar's test was used. Level of significance was kept at p <= 0.05. Results: The mean age of the study population was 51.83 +/- 15.93 with a range of 25 - 80 years. Out of 130 patients, 60 patients had positive culture results. Nineteen (31.7%) cases had positive culture for tuberculosis and 41 (63.3%) cases had positive results for other bacteria before intervention that did not change after using 2% lidocaine (p=1). In 70 (53.84%) cases, results were negative before and after use of 2% lidocaine. Conclusion: No significant difference was found between culture results before and after the use of lidocaine. Therefore, lidocaine can be used during bronchoscopy to increase patient tolerance.