Lidocaine treatment of experimental cutaneous lesions from potassium chloride injection

Potassium chloride (KCl) given subcutaneously in high concentrations causes necrosis of skin, possibly from vasoconstriction around the injection site. The authors studied guinea pigs given subcutaneous injections of various volumes and concentrations of KCl and observed the severity of the cutaneous lesions. In further experiments, therapeutic agents were injected subcutaneously 10 minutes after KCl infiltration. The severity of cutaneous lesions was not affected by various volumes of KCl of the same concentration, but was correlated positively with increasing concentrations of the salt when concentration was varied. Dextrose, 5%, and sodium bicarbonate, 1 M, had no effect on the cutaneous lesions caused by KCl, while hyaluronidase, 150 U/ml, lessened them. Lidocaine, 1%, a vasodilator, eliminated cutaneous lesions caused by KCl. Kcl-induced lesions may be due to vasocontriction, which can be relieved by lidocaine.