Local Anaesthetics Flashcards
What are the 2 types of anaesthesia?
1) General anaesthesia - total loss of sensation
2) Local anaesthesia
What are the 3 types of local anaesthesia?
1) Regional anaesthesia - loss of sensation to a region or part of body
2) Local infiltration - cuts, skin incisions
3) Topical - eye, skin
Give the 3 non pharmacological methods of achieving local anaesthesia?
1) Cold
2) Pressure
3) Hypoxia
Give the 1 reversible and 4 not reversible pharmacological methods of achieving local anaesthesia?
Reversible = local anaesthetics
Non reversible = Phenol, ethanol, radiofrequency and surgery
Why are phenol, ethanol, radiofrequency and surgery all non reversible methods of achieving local anaesthesia?
All methods kill the nerve
Phenol and ethanol injected around a nerve kills it
Radiofrequency waves are sugery can also destroy the nerve
What is a local anaesthetic?
A drug which reversibly prevents the transmission of the nerve impulse, in the region to which it is applied, without affecting consciousness
What is the mechanism of action of local anaesthetics?
They block the sodium gated ion channels on neurons
is local anaesthetic injected into nerves?
No - if it was this would cause irreversible surgical damage to the nerve. Instead it is injected around the nerve.
Each nerve contains many neurons, through which layers must LA pass to reach the individual neurons?
1) Whole nerve covered by epineurium
2) Bundles within the nerve covered in perineurium
3) Individual axons covered by endoneurium
Why do LA have to be able to pass through the membrane of neurons?
Can only block the voltage gated sodium channels from within the neuron
In which form are LAs capable of passing through the membrane of a neuron?
Unionized form (in the ionized form they would be repelled by the membrane)
In which form are LAs capable of blocking the voltage gated sodium channels?
In the ionized form
Voltage gated Na channels are made up of alpha and beta subunits, which sub unit does LAs bind to?
Alpha subunit
How many domains does an alpha subunit of an voltage gated sodium channel have?
4
What are the 4 ways of using local anaesthetic?
1) Topical - eg. eyes, ulcers
2) Local infiltration
3) Nerve block
4) Epidural/ spinal block
What would be the 9 properties of an ideal LA?
1) Reversible
2) Good therapeutic index
3) Quick onset
4) Suitable duration
5) No local irritation even on repeated application
6) No side effects
7) No potential to induce allergy
8) Applicable by all rules
9) Cheap, stable, soluble
What was the first LA ever used by who?
Cocaine - Karl Koller
What are the 3 main components to the structure of an LA?
1) Aromatic residue (lipophilic)
2) Intermediate chain
3) Substituted amino group (hydrophilic)
What determines whether an LA is an amide or an ester?
The chain joining the aromatic residue and intermediate chain is either an amide (contains N) group or an ester group
What is an easy way to identify amide LAs from there name?
All LAs end in -caine, if there is the letter i at any point before the -caine then it is an amide
What is the therapeutic index?
ED50/LD50
ED50 = dose that will be effective in 50% of patients
LD50 = dose that will be lethal in 50% of patients
The lower the therapeutic index the better
What value determine the onset of action of a LA?
How the close the pKa value of the LA is to physiological pH
What is the pKa value of an LA?
The pH at which the ionized form and non ionized forms are equal - the closer this is to physiological pH the fastest the onset of action