There is a great variety of nerve blocks, from ring blocks of fingers to infiltration around surgical incisions, as well as field-blocks for entire surgical procedures. There are several agents to choose from when performing them and it is important to select an appropriate agent (Fig 1).
Question: What factors might influence your choice of local anaesthetic?
There is a great variety of nerve blocks, from ring blocks of fingers to infiltration around surgical incisions, as well as field-blocks for entire surgical procedures. There are several agents to choose from when performing them and it is important to select an appropriate agent (Fig 1).
Question: What factors might influence your choice of local anaesthetic?
Answer: Two important considerations are:
- How rapidly the block must be effective
- How long the block must last
The two agents, lidocaine and bupivacaine, differ in these respects.
Question: Are there any other factors that might be important?
There is a great variety of nerve blocks, from ring blocks of fingers to infiltration around surgical incisions, as well as field-blocks for entire surgical procedures. There are several agents to choose from when performing them and it is important to select an appropriate agent (Fig 1).
Question: What factors might influence your choice of local anaesthetic?
Answer: Two important considerations are:
- How rapidly the block must be effective
- How long the block must last
The two agents, lidocaine and bupivacaine, differ in these respects.
Question: Are there any other factors that might be important?
Answer: The volume of local anaesthetic needed, which depends on how wide an area it needs to spread over. This is important since there are limits to how much local anaesthetic is safe to use in a single injection.