Influence of age on vascular absorption of lidocaine from the epidural space.

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effect of age on the vascular absorption of local anesthetics during epidural anesthesia and to corroborate the clinical observations of other investigators with respect to age. Using the arbitrary definition of significance (P less than 0.05), the maximum serum levels of lidocaine (Csmax) did not differ significantly with age, however, P values were equal to 0.06. Furthermore, the time to Csmax was significantly faster in elderly patients (P less than 0.00001). In conclusion, the mass of local anesthetic solution should be reduced in elderly patients undergoing epidural anesthesia because there is a greater segmental spread, and serum levels of local anesthetics are increased.