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Toxicity of Xylocaine to rabbit corneal endothelium
L P Werner1, J M Legeais, C Obsler
1Laboratoire Universitaire d'Ophthalmologie, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Paris, France.
Purpose:
To assess the toxicity of lidocaine hydrochloride (Xylocaine) to the corneal endothelium.
Setting:
Department of Ophthalmology, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Paris, France.
Methods:
Rabbit corneas were excised and the endothelium was exposed to balanced salt solution (BSS), Xylocaine 1%, or Xylocaine 5% (5 corneas/group) for 20 minutes. The endothelium was then stained with trypan blue and alizarin red, and 5 photomicrographs were taken of each cornea at a standard magnification and analyzed with a digital imaging system (Biocom 200).
Results:
Xylocaine solutions produced changes in endothelial cell morphology, but there was no cell staining with trypan blue. Corneas exposed to Xylocaine 5% had more marked cell alterations. Small areas of cells were lost from all 15 corneas, mainly at the periphery, but the differences among the 3 groups of corneas were not significant.
Conclusion:
Exposure of rabbit corneal endothelium to Xylocaine solutions in vitro was not associated with trypan blue staining of endothelial cells.