When large doses of a local anesthetic are required (eg, for major peripheral nerve block or local infiltration for major plastic surgery), premedication with a parenteral benzodiazepine (eg, diazepam or midazolam) will provide some prophylaxis against local anesthetic-induced CNS toxicity. However, such premedication will have little, if any, effect on cardiovascular toxicity, potentially delaying recognition of a life-threatening overdose. Of note, administration of a propofol infusion or general anesthesia accounted for 5 of the 10 cases presenting with isolated cardiovascular toxicity in the aforementioned literature review of reported clinical cases.
If seizures do occur, it is critical to prevent hypoxemia and acidosis, which potentiate anesthetic toxicity. Rapid tracheal intubation can facilitate adequate ventilation and oxygenation, and is essential to prevent pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents in patients at risk. The effect of hyperventilation is complex, and its role in resuscitation following anesthetic overdose is somewhat controversial, but it likely offers distinct benefit if used to counteract metabolic acidosis. Seizures induced by local anesthetics should be rapidly controlled to prevent patient harm and exacerbation of acidosis. A recent practice advisory from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia advocates benzodiazepines as first-line drugs (eg, midazolam, 0.03–0.06 mg/kg) because of their hemodynamic stability, but small doses of propofol (eg, 0.25–0.5 mg/kg) were considered acceptable alternatives, as they are often more immediately available in the setting of local anesthetic administration. The motor activity of the seizure can be effectively terminated by administration of a neuromuscular blocker, though this will not diminish the CNS manifestations, and efforts must include therapy directed at the underlying seizure activity.
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Cardiotoxicity—The most feared complications associated with local anesthetic administration result from the profound effects these agents can have on cardiac conduction and function. In 1979, an editorial by Albright reviewed the circumstances of six deaths associated with the use of bupivacaine and etidocaine. This seminal publication suggested that these relatively new lipophilic and potent anesthetics had greater potential cardiotoxicity and that cardiac arrest could occur concurrently or immediately following seizures and, most importantly, in the absence of hypoxia or acidosis. Although this suggestion was sharply criticized, subsequent clinical experience unfortunately reinforced Albright’s concern—within 4 years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had received reports of 12 cases of cardiac arrest associated with the use of 0.75% bupivacaine for epidural anesthesia in obstetrics. Further support for enhanced cardiotoxicity of these anesthetics came from animal studies demonstrating that doses of bupivacaine and etidocaine as low as two thirds of those producing convulsions could induce arrhythmias, while the margin between CNS and cardiac toxicity was less than half that for lidocaine. In response, the FDA banned the use of 0.75% bupivacaine in obstetrics. In addition, incorporation of a test dose became ingrained as a standard of anesthetic practice, along with the practice of fractionated administration of local anesthetic.