
Dr Andrew Toner
Long-term outcomes after lidocaine infusions for postoperative pain
Clinician Research Fellowship
$342,625
2019 - 2022
Royal Perth Hospital
Dr Toner is an Academic Anaesthetist at Royal Perth Hospital and Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia. The award of a Clinician Research Fellowship in 2019 has enhanced Dr Toner’s career horizon and has enabled him to assess the safety, effectiveness, and feasibility of perioperative lidocaine infusions in breast cancer surgery patients.
Chronic pain after surgery for breast cancer is common and contributes to disability, low quality of life and mood disturbance. Lidocaine, a drug used for many years as a local anaesthetic agent, may protect against the development of chronic post-surgical pain when it is administered steadily into the body as an infusion. Dr Toner’ team conducted a pilot study in 150 patients and showed that lidocaine infusions can be delivered safely and effectively in breast cancer surgery patients.
This research has the great potential to support the development of clinical guidelines that allow widespread use of the lidocaine intervention if it is ultimately proven to be effective. “Local practice in the three WA hospitals that participated in this pilot study has already begun to change, with increasing use of lidocaine infusions intraoperatively and the addition of dedicated infusion programs to circulating theather pumps” Dr Toner said.
Thanks to this fellowship Dr Toner has received funding from the Medical Research Future Fund which has expanded this pilot study into a large international trial known as the LOLIPOP trial and will determine whether this treatment should be implemented in the clinic by analysing a large cohort of patients. Dr Toner was also successful in acquiring a NHMRC Investigator Grant in 2022 which included the LOLIPOP trial.
Dr Toner has stated: “The Clinician Research Fellowship has assisted my research career in numerous ways. Primarily, it has strengthened my profile as an academic anaesthetist, in particular byimproving my competitiveness for national level funding and university positions - this culminated in a NHMRC Investigator Grant and an Associate Professor position at the University of Western Australia. Finally, it has elevated my standing with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists clinical trial network executive committee, paving the way for strong collaboration with other leaders of perioperative research in Australia”
Dr Toner believes that this fellowship has been the single most important factor in the progression of his career from an early career researcher to an international academic leader in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine. He has also stated that "The Clinician Research Fellowship is a fantastically effective resource and we are lucky to have it available in WA".
Dr Toner research has also received media overage including appearance on 9 News WA and ABC radio and an article has also been published in the West Australian.