We use lidocaine in our practice every day, but are we ready for the emergencies that arise from its use? If you have not had an emergency reaction yet, then you are extremely fortunate. This course will go over what causes the emergency reaction and how to deal with them.
What is lidocaine?
Lidocaine used as a local anesthetic blocks the nerve signals to the brain. It is an amide-type of local anesthetic that is metabolized by the liver and excreted by the kidneys. Lidocaine crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers, presumably by passive diffusion.
The rate of hydrolysis has an effect on the potential toxicity of the anesthetic. The amide-type anesthetics include lidocaine, mepivacaine (Carbocaine), prilocaine (Citanest), bupivacaine (Marcaine), etidocaine (curanest), dibucaine (nupercaine), and ropivacaine (Naropin).
There Is another group of anesthetics called the ester group. These are cocaine, procaine, chloroprocaine, tetracaine, and benzocaine. Usually these anesthetics are not in dental cartridges. They are metabolized in the blood by pseudocholinesterase into para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and represent the major factor in allergic reactions. Now,....