Lidocaine Flashcards
What is Lidocaine and its significance in anesthesia?
Lidocaine is an amide-type local anesthetic used for local anesthesia in surgical procedures, dental work, and diagnostic interventions, and has topical formulations for skin or mucous membrane application. It also possesses antiarrhythmic properties for emergency ventricular arrhythmias.
How does Lidocaine provide local anesthesia?
By blocking voltage-gated sodium channels in nerve membranes, Lidocaine inhibits nerve impulse transmission, leading to temporary loss of sensation in the targeted area without affecting overall consciousness.
What are the antiarrhythmic properties of Lidocaine?
Lidocaine has been used to treat ventricular arrhythmias by suppressing reentry cardiac arrhythmias, such as premature ventricular contractions and ventricular tachycardia, with minimal effects on supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.
Discuss the adjuvant use of Lidocaine.
Often combined with other anesthetics or vasoconstrictors like epinephrine to enhance the onset, prolong the duration of anesthesia, and reduce systemic absorption, minimizing toxicity risks.
Detail Lidocaine’s mechanism of action.
Lidocaine blocks the influx of sodium ions through voltage-gated sodium channels, preventing action potential generation and propagation in neurons, leading to temporary analgesia and anesthesia.
What makes Lidocaine selective in nerve conduction inhibition?
It preferentially blocks pain-conducting nerve fibers over motor or tactile fibers, resulting in pain sensation loss without significantly affecting motor function or other sensations.
How is Lidocaine metabolized?
Lidocaine is primarily metabolized in the liver, influencing its duration of action and potential toxicity, especially in patients with liver impairment.
What are the potential toxic effects of Lidocaine?
Toxicity can lead to peripheral vasodilation, myocardial depression, hypotension, bradycardia, prolonged P-R interval, widened QRS complex, seizures, CNS depression, apnea, and cardiac arrest.
