Management of Regional Anesthesia and Spinal Block Flashcards
T/F: Local anesthetics are weak bases?
True
Structures consists of an aromatic moiety connected to a substituted amine through an _____ or _____ linkage.
Ester, Amide
How can you tell whether a local anesthetic is an ester or amide?
Amides will contain two “i” within the name.
What was the first anesthetic to be used?
Cocaine
Who was the first person to administer a local anesthetic and what was the time?
August Beer, 1884
Does a molecule have to unionized or ionized to cross the lipophilic barrier to get into a cell.
Unionized
What does pKa mean?
The pH at which 50% of the local anesthetic is in the charged form and 50% is in the uncharged form.
What is the mechanism of action for local anesthetic?
- Block nerve conduction by impairing propagation of the action potential in axons.
- Decrease the rate of rise of the action potential such that the threshold potential is not reached
- Interact directly with specific receptors on the Na+ ion influx.
What increases potency and allows local anesthetics more easily cross nerve membrane?
Lipid Solubility
Agents with a high degree of _______ binding will have a prolonged duration of effect.
protein
What does pKa do?
Determines speed of onset of neural blockade.
Blockade of Nerve Fibers (Size): ______ fibers are more easily blocked than _______ fibers.
thin, thick
Blockade of Nerve Fibers (myelinated): _______ fibers are more readily blocked than _________ fibers.
UnMyelinated, myelinated
Myelinated nerve fibers are blocked only at __________.
Node of Ravier
What will be the sensory lost in a spinal block?
Sympathetic
What is the sequence of clinical anesthesia to be lost.
- Sympathetic block with peripheral vasodilation and skin temperature elevation.
- Loss of pain and temperature sensation.
- Loss of proprioception (loss of body orientation)
- Loss of touch and pressure sensation.
- Motor paralysis
What are esters metabolized by?
- Cleaved by plasma cholinesterase. Half life in circulation is short (about 1 minute)
- Degradation product of ester metabolism is a metabolite related to p-aminobenzoic acid.
What are amides metabolized by?
Amides linkage is cleaved through N-dealkylation followed by hydrolysis. This occurs in the liver.
(Elimination half life is 2-3 hours)
What does baricity mean?
Classification of local anesthetic solution as hypobaric, isobaric, or hyperbaric based on their density relative to the density/specific gravity of cerebral spinal fluid.
What is the specific gravity of spinal fluid?
1.009 to 1.004
What are adjuvants for local anesthetic?
Epinephrine, phenylephrine, sodium bicarb, and opioiods
What effect will epinephrine have on site with local anesthetic?
- Prolong duration
- Decrease systemic toxicity by decreasing rate of absorption
- increase intensity of block
- decreases surgical bleeding
- assist in evaluation of test dose
When should epinephrine not be used with local anesthetics?
- Peripheral nerve clocks in areas with poor collateral circulation
- IV regional technique (bier block)
- Hx of uncontrolled HTN, CAD arrhythmia, hyperthyroid, utero-placental insufficiency.
- phenylephrine
What effect will sodium bicarb do with local anesthetic?
- raises pH and raises concentration of non-ionized base.
- increases the rate of diffusion across thenerve membrane and speeds onset of neural blockade.
- 1 meq added to each 10 mL of lidocaine or mepivacaine.
- 0.1 mEq added to each 10 mL of bupivicaine (to avoid ppt of the drug)
What effect will opioid have with local anesthetic?
- Addition of 50-100ug of fentanyl to the local anesthetic shortens the onset, increases the level and prolongs the duration of a regional block.
- A selective action at the dorsal horn of the spinal cord modulates pain transmission.
- Action is synergistic with the action of the local anesthetic.
Amides may have what in them to cause an allergic reaction?
Methyl-paraben (PABA) a preservative
Esters may have what in them to cause an allergic reaction?
- Metabolite similar to PABA
- pt. sensitive to sulfonamides or thiazide diuretics.
Accidental intravascular injection or overdose of local anesthetic can be minimized by:
Aspiration prior to injection
Use of epi-containing solutions for test dose
Use of small incremental volumes to establish the block
Use of proper technique during IV regional
What are the clinical feature of central nervous system toxicity of local anesthetics?
Lightheadedness
Tinnitus
Metallic taste
Visual disturbance
Numbness of tongue and lip
May progress to:
- Muscle twitching
- Loss of consciousness
- Grand mal seizure
- Coma
Starting from low to high local anesthetic toxicity name the clinical signs.
1 Numbness of tongue 2 Light headedness 3 Visual disturbance 4 Muscular twitching 5Unconsciousness 6 Convulsions 7 Coma 8 Respiratory arrest 9 CVS depression
What is the treatment of local anesthetic CNS toxicity?
Administer O2
Seizure activity
Midazolam 1-2 mg
Thiopental 50-200mg
Propofol
What are the signs of local anesthetic cardiovascular toxicity?
Clinical presentation
Decreased contractility
Decreased conduction
Loss of peripheral vasomotor tone
Cardiovascular collapse
Intravascular injection of bupivacaine or etidocaine may
result in cardiovascular collapse that is refractory to
therapy because of the high degree of tissue binding of
these agents
What is the treatment for local anesthetic cardiovascular toxicity?
Administer O2
Support the circulation with volume, vasopressors, and inotropes
ACLS if indicated
Treat V-tach with cardioversion
Prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation may be required until the cardiotoxic effects subside with drug redistribution.
T/F: Research suggests that post-op morbidity and possibly mortality may be reduced when neuraxial blockade is used, either alone or in combination with general anesthesia.
True
When a neuraxial blockade is used what are the reduced incidences of:
venous thrombosis
pulmonary embolism
cardiac complications
vascular graft occlusion
respiratory depression and pneumonia
blood loss and transfusion
allows earlier return of GI function
How is a neuraxial blockade done?
Accomplished by injecting local anesthetic solution into the cerebral spinal fluid within the subarachnoid/intrathecal space
What are the pros of doing a neuraxial blockade?
Easy to perform
Uses less local anesthetic
Causes less discomfort during placement
Produces more intense sensory and motor block