Etidocaine in retrobulbar anaesthesia. A comparison with mepivacaine

A new long-acting local anaesthetic, etidocaine (Duranest) has been compared to mepivacaine (Carbocaine) in retrobulbar anaesthesia in a double-blind trial including 45 patients. Solutions used were etidocaine 0.5% and 1% and mepivacaine 1%, all without adrenaline. The onset time was short and no difference was found between the solutions. The duration of analgesia and motor block was significantly longer with etidocaine 1% compared to mepivacaine 1%. In a following open study with etidocaine 1% and mepivacaine 1% about 80% of the the patients in the etidocaine group never experienced any post-operative pain compared to about 50% in the mepivacaine group. No signs of local or systemic toxicity were noted in the studies.