The US has no shortage of lidocaine patch television commercials. Topical lidocaine has a role for local, topical, minor aches and pains. What about lidocaine patches for post-op cesarean section pain? Is there data for that? A brand-new meta-analysis in AJOG-MFM (Nov 13, 2025) looks at this option. However, there has been 3 prior reviews on the same topic from 2019, 2022, and 2023. Do they all arrive at the same result? Listen in for details!

1. Smoker J, Cohen A, Rasouli MR, Schwenk ES. Transdermal Lidocaine for Perioperative Pain: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Current Pain and Headache Reports. 2019;23(12):89. doi:10.1007/s11916-019-0830-9.

2. Koo CH, Kim J, Na HS, Ryu JH, Shin HJ. The Effect of Lidocaine Patch for Postoperative Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia. 2022;81:110918. doi:10.1016/j.jclinane.2022.110918.

3. Wu X, Wei X, Jiang L, et al. Is Lidocaine Patch Beneficial for Postoperative Pain?: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 2023;39(9):484-490. doi:10.1097/AJP.0000000000001135

4. Parisi, Nadia et al.Lidocaine patches after cesarean delivery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, Volume 0, Issue 0, 101832