Lec 17 Local Anesthetics Flashcards
What is clinical use for local anesthetics?
- produce analgesia in restricted region by inhibiting neurons that transmit nociception
- blockade not specific to nociceptors so get general loss of sensation
- ideally do not alter brain activity [unlike general anesthetics]
What is the general structure of local anesthetics?
aromatic group + linker + amino group
–> either ester or amide
What are routes of administration of local anesthetics?
- topical [surface]
- injection near a nerve
- regional block [iv injection into extremity, tourniquet to reduce systemic distribution
What is primary mech of action of local anesthetics ?
- block voltage-gated sodium channels
- bind site formed by 3 of the S6 helices that line pore
- little selectivity for subtypes of Na channel [contributes to adverse effects]
What is a field block?
- injection of local anesthetic near nerve
- anesthetizes region distal to injection
what is a local infiltration?
injection of local anesthetic at site to be excised
What is a nerve block?
injection near a peripheral nerve or nerve plexus
How is potency of local anesthesia correlated with lipid solubility? molecular size?
small molecular size + more lipid soluble = more potent
As a general rule are C nerve fibers carrying pain and temp or larger A fibers more easily blocked?
- smaller fibers blocked first
What are the 3 important structural features of local anesthetics?
- aromatic group [lipophilic]
- linker [either amide or ester]
- amino group [hydrophilic, ionizable]
How do you tell if a local anesthetic is an amide or an ester based on its name?
- all amIdes have an I before the “caine”
What form of local anesthetic can traverse cell membrane? what form has higher affinity for binding site in Na channel?
- nonionized form traverses cell membrane
- ionized form has higher affinity for binding site in Na channel
What is pKA of most weak bases?
7-9
What is pka?
pH at which half of drug is in ionized and half in nonionized
What is henderson hasselbach?
log (protonated)/(unprotonated) = pKa - pH
“protonated = more, goes on top”
Which one local anesthetic can only be found in ionized form?
benzocaine
How does reduced pH affect ability of local anesthetic to function? in what scenarios do you see this?
when low pH –> more of drug is in protonated form –> less avaible that can diffuse into nerve cell
- reduces effect of a given dose
- seen in inflamed tissues, infection
What are the two major routes by which local anesthetic accesses channel?
major: via intracelluar, drug in cytoplasm enters and blocks open channel
minor: membrane delimited, drug diffused from within lipid bilayer to channel pore
How does carbonation of local anesthetic solution affect its action?
- decreases intracellular pH –> increases prevalence of cationic active form inside the nerve = increase activity
What is use-dependent inhibition?
in order for local anesthetic to block channel via major cytoplasmic route, requires channel to be open
means that really active neurons [like those sensing pain] will be blocked faster
What is use-independent inhibition?
access to channel from lipid bilayer does not require it to be open
with long enough exposure to drug, even relatively inactive neurons become inhibited this way