Experimental studies of the effect of bupivacaine on peripheral nerves.

0.5% Bupivacaine was administered around the sciatic nerve of rabbits by means of a catheter, over a period of ten days. Twenty nerves showed no histological changes, but in three there were areas of demyelination and axonal degeneration, especially near the surface of the nerve. However, similar changes occurred in two out of six nerves to which normal saline was administered instead, and it is suggested that the damage may have been caused by mechanical trauma from movement of the catheter.