Case reports. We describe a new pharmacological approach for successfully treating hiccups in four cancer patients. In the first patient, chronic and intractable hiccups lasted for more than 18 months, but disappeared immediately after swallowing a viscous 2 % lidocaine solution for treatment of mucositis. Moved Permanently. The document has moved here. 1. N Engl J Med. 1993 Sep 16;329(12):890-1. Lidocaine for severe hiccups. Dunst MN, Margolin K, Horak D. PMID: 8355763 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] The appearance of hiccups in patients undergoing medical procedures and under sedation/anesthesia usually constitutes an unwelcome and disturbing occurrence. Triggering events include distention of the stomach during bag-valve-mask ventilation and esophagogastroduodenoscopy, intraoperative Based on these circumstances, we can assume a local effect of orally administered lidocaine possibly by influencing afferent nerves in the upper gastrointestinal tract, which are part of the hiccup reflex, just like esophagitis or gastric distension may cause hiccups. Background This study aimed to evaluate and compare the therapeutic effects of ephedrine and lidocaine in treatment of intraoperative hiccups in gynecologic surgery under sedation. The authorized source of trusted medical research and education for the Chinese-language medical community. The New England Journal of Medicine The most trusted, influential source of new medical. My husband finished radiation and the hiccups went away. The baclofen really helped relieve the hiccups but really knocked him out. My husband was willing to put up with the fatigue in order to breathe. Lidocaine has cured patients after other agents were unsuccessful. Other reportedly beneficial agents include muscle relaxants, sedatives, analgesics, stimulants, and various miscellaneous agents (eg, edrophonium, dexamethasone, amantadine, and nifedipine). Benzodiazepines should be avoided. The rhythm of the hiccup, or the time between hiccups, tends to be relatively constant. A bout of hiccups, in general, resolves itself without intervention, although many home remedies are often used to attempt to shorten the duration. [2].