According to a recently published study in 'Current Medical Opinion and Research', the lidocaine plaster offers a clinically relevant pain reduction in patients with post-surgical neuropathic pain (PSNP). 

Palladini M. and the fellow researchers examined the efficacy and safety of lidocaine 700 mg medicated plaster (lidocaine plaster) as compared to placebo in patients with moderate to severe chronic PSNP.  Total 363 patients with a diagnosis of PSNP for a minimum of 3 months - 36 months were randomized (1:1) to lidocaine plaster or placebo for a double-blind treatment period of 12 weeks. The randomization was divided as "plaster-only" (no concomitant medication for PSNP) or as "add-on" (a stable systemic medication for PSNP). The primary efficacy endpoint encompassed the change from baseline in 24-hour average pain intensity at Week 12, examined using an 11 point numerical rating scale (NRS).  A clinically relevant reduction was observed in the average pain intensity using the treatment with lidocaine or a placebo plaster. Pain relief with lidocaine plaster was numerically higher than placebo; however, the difference was not statistically significant. As per the pre-specified exploratory subgroup analyses, the most significant differentiation was observed between lidocaine and placebo in patients without concomitant pain medication, and in patients with more than one year between the surgery and enrollment. Many secondary outcomes depicted a numerically larger improvement favouring lidocaine. The administration site reactions concerned with topical administration was the most frequently observed adverse events. 

The researchers noted, "The safety and tolerability profile was in accordance with the current knowledge."