Category: Emergency

Lidocaine 

When injecting lidocaine as a local anaesthetic, it’s really rather important that you don’t give too much, what with the whole making-the-nerves-stop-working aspects of its pharmacological profile.

When given locally it’s a terrific anaesthetic, however if too much is allowed into the general circulation, everything gets a bit tingly, the brain goes a tad bezerk and heart decides to stop cooperating. In essence, don’t give too much.

So how much to give?

Well on it’s own, Lidocaine doses shouldn’t exceed 3mg/kg however when given with adrenaline, to induce vasoconstriction and thus limit systemic spread, the dose can be increased to 7mg/kg.

How to remember this?

Syllables!

Li-do-caine = 3 syllables

Li-do-caine-ad-ren-a-line = 7 syllables

easy.

Dippy

If a patient has low blood pressure but also has heart failure, you have to try and improve their cardiac output without fluid overloading them. You could rock them back and forth, but a better bet is to fold them them in half. Lift the head and the feet of the bed so they fold at the waist. This will relieve the fluid stress on the lungs while also improving venous return.