Auditory brainstem-evoked response after single-dose injection of lidocaine and tocainide

In order to investigate the effects of tocainide and lidocaine on the auditory brainstem-evoked response (ABR), 10 healthy male subjects 20-40 years of age were given a single i.v. dose of 250 mg of tocainide and of 100 mg of lidocaine on separate occasions in a trial with a double-blind cross-over design. Neither drug produced any significant change in absolute or interpeak intervals, or in latency-intensity functions (wave V). The results fail to indicate that lidocaine and tocainide in the doses given influence the synaptic transmission and conduction velocity in the cochlear nerve or in the brainstem.