Lidocaine mist may shield lungs after major surgery

This study tested whether giving lidocaine as a mist during major abdominal surgery could lower the chance of lung problems afterward. Lung complications after surgery can lengthen hospital stays and increase costs and death risk. The researchers enrolled 270 adults having major non-cardiac surgery and compared those who received the lidocaine mist to those who did not. The main goal was to see if the treatment reduced lung complications within seven days after surgery.