The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the intravenous (IV) or paravertebral (PV) lidocaine administration during the intraoperative period of lung resection surgery on the appearance of postoperative complications. We design a randomized, controlled and blinded study to be performed in 153 patients with 3 arms: 1) Lidocaine IV + PV saline 2) saline IV + PV lidocaine, 3) remifentanil IV + PV saline. Perioperative analysis of inflammatory biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage and serum. Follow-up of the postoperative course, especially the appearance of postoperative complications according to the revised Clavien-Dindo classification for thoracic surgery, as well as other relevant clinical results.

Postoperative pulmonary complications continue to be one of the main causes of morbidity, mortality and increase in hospital stay in patients undergoing surgical procedures requiring anesthesia. Its incidence in lung resection surgery is greater than in other non-cardiac major surgeries due to damage of structures related to respiratory function.

Furthermore, during lung resection surgery there is an exaggerated pulmonary inflammatory response related to the use of one-lung ventilation and / or the lung damage produced by the collapse of the operated lung as well as the surgical manipulation itself.

Recently, in a clinical trial on 180 patients (NCT 02168751), our researcher group observed that the attenuation of the pulmonary inflammatory response through the use of halogenated anesthetic agents, was related to a decrease in the appearance of postoperative pulmonary complications after lung resection surgery. In addition, the presence, in bronchoalveolar lavages, of elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukine(IL)-6 and the IL-6 / IL10 ratio were independent predictors of the risk of developing postoperative pulmonary complications.

Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that blocks nerve conduction by blocking sodium channels. In addition it has been known for experimental and clinical studies of its immunomodulatory properties.

Clinical studies performed in different surgeries show that a continuous intravenous infusion of lidocaine during surgery is associated with a lower inflammatory response assessed by monitoring plasma cytokines, as well as less postoperative pain, a shorter duration of postoperative paralytic ileus and a early hospital discharge.

Currently, there is no clinical study that has evaluated the role of intravenous lidocaine on the pulmonary inflammatory response and the subsequent lung damage that inevitably occurs during lung resection surgery with periods of one lung ventilation.

Currently, some experts are proposing the replacement of thoracic epidural and paravertebral analgesia by the intravenous infusion of lidocaine and minor analgesics, for fast-track programs, based on their analgesic and anti-inflammatory capacity and on avoiding the risks inherent in the insertion of an epidural or paravertebral catheter.

Hypothesis: The administration of intravenous or paravertebral lidocaine during lung resection surgery attenuates the exaggerated inflammatory response that inevitably occurs in this surgical intervention. The lower expression of pro-inflammatory mediators will be associated with a lower rate of postoperative complications that are related to the perioperative inflammatory process.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients of both sexes undergoing lung resection surgery at the Thoracic Surgery Service at the Gregorio Maranón hospital.
• Patients who voluntarily accept to participate in the study and sign the informed consent
• Age> 18 years and legally capable
• Scheduled surgery.
• Functional respiratory tests with forced expiratory volume at one second > 50% or forced vital capacity > 50% preoperatively performed on these patients routinely.
• Not having been on chronic treatment with oral corticosteroids or immunosuppressants three months before surgery.
• Patients without previous history of liver disease.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy and lactation
• Known hypersensitivity to amide-type local anesthetics.
• Transfusion of blood products in the previous 10 days.
• Impossibility of performing mechanical ventilation for pulmonary protection.

The randomization will be carried out through the EPIDAT 3.1 program. Randomization codes will be obtained prior to the recruitment of the first patient and will be kept in a sealed envelope with numbering on the outside of the envelope. The operating room anesthesiologist will receive the assigned medication from the corresponding group with the only identification of intravenous perfusion and paravertebral perfusion, without having knowledge of the group to which the patient belongs.

Bias control: The anesthesiologist responsible for the intraoperative management of the patient, the physician responsible for postoperative control in the postoperative care unit and the guard physician who will perform the cognitive dysfunction test preoperative and postoperative and the follow up until the month of surgery will be blind to the technique used, as well as those responsible for the analysis of the biological samples.