Comparison of local anesthetics as bronchodilator aerosols

Lidocaine aerosols have been ineffective at preventing airway constriction provoked by non-reflex stimuli. To determine if there were any advantages to using more potent amide-type local anesthetics or local anesthetics from other chemical classes, the authors compared the protection afforded by pretreatment with aerosols of lidocaine, bupivacaine, hexylcaine, and procaine against a subsequent prolonged challenge (5 min) with 10% citric acid aerosols in barbiturate-anesthetized Basenji-Greyhound dogs. The local anesthetics were administered as aerosols (4% solutions) for 10 min immediately preceding the citric acid challenge. In control experiments, that employed pretreatment with aerosols of isotonic saline rather than local anesthetics, the citric acid challenge aerosol increased pulmonary resistance by an average of 3.3 +/- 0.8 (+/- SE) cmH2O X 1(-1) X s during the first 15-min postchallenge, and reduced dynamic compliance by one-third during this time. None of the local anesthetics prevented citric-acid-induced changes in pulmonary mechanics. The average increases in pulmonary resistance (0-15 min postchallenge) elicited by citric acid aerosols in dogs pretreated with lidocaine, hexylcaine, bupivacaine, and procaine were 2.1 +/- 0.6, 2.1 +/- 0.6, 3.2 +/- 1.3, and 3.3 +/- 1.0 cmH2O X 1(-1) X s, respectively. The authors concluded that local anesthetic aerosols have little or no effect against other than reflex bronchoconstriction, and none of those tested were more effective than lidocaine.