Abstract
Lipid emulsion is effective for treating local anesthetic-induced cardiovascular toxicity. Its effect as an antidote was originally proven in experimental animals. Although it has not been proven in clinical experiments, numerous case reports describe its effectiveness for treating both central nervous system and cardiovascular toxicity of local anesthetics. The guidelines for treating local anesthetic toxicity recommend the use of lipid emulsion when cardiovascular toxicity induced by local anesthetics is resistant to conventional therapy. Although no adverse effects have been reported when used with local anesthetics, one patient developed respiratory complications and required long-time mechanical ventilation, possibly caused by the lipid emulsion used for treating toxicity by psychomotor agents.
