Articaine: a review of its use for local and regional anesthesia

Abstract

Marc SnoeckDepartment of Anaesthesia, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The NetherlandsAbstract: Articaine is an intermediate-potency, short-acting amide local anesthetic with a fast metabolism due to an ester group in its structure. It is effective with local infiltration or peripheral nerve block in dentistry, when administered as a spinal, epidural, ocular, or regional nerve block, or when injected intravenously for regional anesthesia. In comparative trials, its clinical effects were not generally significantly different from those of other short-acting local anesthetics like lidocaine, prilocaine, and chloroprocaine, and there is no conclusive evidence demonstrating above-average neurotoxicity. Articaine proved to be suitable and safe for procedures requiring a short duration of action in which a fast onset of anesthesia is desired, eg, dental procedures and ambulatory spinal anesthesia, in normal and in special populations.Keywords: articaine, regional anesthesia, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic use, tolerability, neurotoxicity