Regional Anesthesia - Complications Common to All Nerve Blocks

Complications of local anesthetics

Complications of local anesthetics include intravascular injection (Fig. 18.1), local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) (see Chapter 16 Local Anesthetics), and allergic responses. Use of ultrasound, epinephrine in local anesthetic solutions, and intermittent aspiration during injection may help identify intravascular injection. Benzodiazepine premedication increases the seizure threshold and may decrease the central nervous system toxicity of local anesthetics as well as patient anxiety. However, this may also reduce early recognition of toxicity and therefore should be titrated carefully to prevent oversedation.

There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.