Prolonged Duration Local Anesthesia

Abstract

Acute and chronic pain are often treated with local anesthetic agents, whether by injection or topical application. “Conventional” agents (amino-ester and amino-amide local anesthetics) are limited by systemic and local toxicity as well as their short durations of action. For more than 30 years, prolonged duration local anesthesia (PDLA) has been the focus of intense scientific investigation with the goal of enhanced anesthetic duration following a single application. To this end, a broad array of methods has been employed, including the use of nonconventional agents with local anesthetic properties, addition of adjuvants, and controlled release delivery systems. This chapter reviews selected developments in the very extensive field of PDLA.