[How should a toxic accident be treated?]

Local anaesthetic systemic toxicity is a rare but often dramatic complication of regional anaesthesia. Convulsions often follow warning signs, easily recognized when looked for; but they may occur from the first. They are rapidly followed by hypoxia and hypercapnia which greatly enhance the risk of severe cardiac depression, mainly with bupivacaine or etidocaine. Thiopentone is able to stop convulsions quickly, but may further depress the cardiovascular system. Diazepam has been shown to be effective in the treatment of local anaesthetic-induced convulsions. It gives less myocardial depression, but is much slower in effect. Midazolam, a new short-acting benzodiazepine, should be the best choice. Should tracheal intubation become necessary, suxamethonium can be used. Indeed, the principal use of these drugs is to make ventilation easier, so as to restore rapidly correct oxygenation. Severe cardiac depression, often leading to cardiac arrest, may occur from the first or after the appearance of convulsions. It generally follows a regional block carried out with bupivacaine. A few antiarrhythmic drugs have been used to treat ventricular arrhythmias, either in experimental studies (lidocaine, bretylium) or after clinical accidents (lidocaine). Their efficacy and innocuity have to be proved before they can be proposed to treat these accidents. Bradycardia only needs treatment with atropine when it causes severe haemodynamic disturbances. When cardiac arrest occurs, cardiopulmonary resuscitation must be carried out; its mainstays are: oxygen, sodium bicarbonate, adrenaline, calcium and perhaps glucagon. This must be continued for a long time, as late successes have been published.