Lidocaine has been shown to blunt the cardiovascular response to endotracheal intubation. The
incidence of hypertension, tachycardia and dysrhythmias due to laryngoscopy may be increased
in patients that receive rapid sequence induction and intubation, where opioids are spared
and intravenous anesthetic agents are not titrated step by step. Our hypothesis was that
lidocaine when administered intravenously in patients who undergo rapid sequence induction
may not only blunt the hemodynamic response to intubation, but may also increase the
anesthetic depth (as assessed by BIS), thus further reducing the possibility of hypertension,
arrhythmias and also awareness.