Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention
Published on: October 16, 2013
Adverse drug reactions to local anesthetics: a systematic review
Wenwen Liu1, Xianrui Yang, Chunjie Li
1State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to analyze adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with local anesthetics (LAs) and to characterize the safety profile of LAs in clinical application.
Study Design:
Electronic databases were searched, and the data of the included articles were extracted and analyzed.
Results:
A total of 922 articles were retrieved, and 101 of them, containing 1,645 events, were included. Lidocaine (43.17%) and bupivacaine (16.32%) were the most often involved LAs. Epinephrine (45.37%) was mostly combined with LAs. Cardiovascular system reactions (27.83%) were the most involved systematic ADRs of LAs. Among 7 death events (3.54%), 2 patients died of intravascular injection. According to the meta-analysis, the risk of using LA alone was lower than combined with epinephrine.
Conclusions:
The present study demonstrated that the ADRs of LAs could not be ignored, especially in oral and ophthalmologic treatments. Some ADRs could be avoided by properly evaluating the conditions of patients and correctly applying LAs.
Related Concept Videos
Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
Local Anesthetics: Pharmacokinetics
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
Local Anesthetics: Common Agents and Their Applications
Cocaine is an ester of benzoic acid and methylecgogine. It is used to anesthetize and vasoconstrict locally. Currently, it is used primarily for topical applications. It is beneficial for surgeries on the upper respiratory tract, providing anesthesia and shrinking the mucosa. Cocaine in the form of cocaine hydrochloride is...
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Intravenous Regional Anesthesia
One of the advantages of...

