Clearance of lidocaine by hemodialysis

Because little has been known regarding the dialyzability of lidocaine, we studied the clearance of this drug by hemodialysis. The dialysance of lidocaine was found to range between 10.6 to 21.3 ml/min. Lidocaine-urea extraction ratio averaged 11%. Because of the low therapeutic and even toxic plasma levels, the amount of drug removed by dialysis is negligible. Therefore, dose adjustment is unnecessary during dialysis, and dialysis appears to be of little help in the treatment of lidocaine toxicity.