No abstract

Spinal anaesthesia with bupivacaine (22.5 mg) or with a glucose-containing solution of bupivacaine (20 mg) or tetracaine (15 mg) was given to 21 patients allocated randomly to these three groups. A urodynamic study was performed by CO2 cystometry. It consisted of recording of first sensation of bladder filling, sensation of full bladder, strength of maximal detrusor contraction, bladder capacity and urethral pressure. At the same time, using a quantitative method for measuring muscle strength, the motor block was evaluated for three separate movements--hip flexion, knee extension and plantar flexion of the big toe. After the spinal injection, the micturition reflex was rapidly blocked. One minute after the injection, eight patients experienced no strong desire to void when the bladder was overfilled, and 5 min after the injection bladder paralysis was present in most patients. The length of time from spinal injection to complete recovery of detrusor strength was 7-8 h and did not differ significantly between the three groups. The level of analgesia lay at or caudal to L5 when the detrusor strength returned. On the average, sensibility (pin-prick) in the sacral segments returned simultaneously with or somewhat earlier than complete recovery of detrusor strength. The muscle strength in the lower limbs was fully restored 40-140 min, on average, before the detrusor strength had completely recovered. There was good correlation between the time of full restoration of hip flexion and detrusor strength in the bupivacaine groups. Urethral pressure was reduced by a mean of 48% and returned to normal either at the same time as or slightly before complete recovery of detrusor strength.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

In 35 patients undergoing topical anaesthesia with lignocaine (lidocaine) gel (2% Xylocaine gel) the concentration of lignocaine base was measured in repeated venous blood samples. Twenty patients (group I) were given 20 ml of 2% lignocaine gel (400 mg lignocaine) and 5 patients (group II) received 40 ml (800 mg lignocaine) endourethrally. These 2 groups of patients underwent either dilation of the urethra or urethrocystoscopy. Ten patients (group III) undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate or a bladder tumour, were given 20 ml of gel (400 mg lignocaine) plus spinal anaesthesia with 2 ml of 5% lignocaine (100 mg lignocaine) with 7.5% glucose (Xylocaine "heavy"). The mean peak blood concentrations of lignocaine in these 3 groups were 0.06, 0.15 and 0.36 micrograms/ml respectively. Patients undergoing urethral dilatation had significantly higher blood concentrations than cystoscopy patients. The blood concentrations in group III were not higher than the expected value when spinal anaesthesia and lignocaine gel were given simultaneously. There was no statistically significant difference in the blood concentration between patients undergoing different types of transurethral resection (prostate and cancer of the bladder). Lignocaine applied endourethrally gives an extremely low blood concentration which is far below the level which can cause general toxic symptoms.