Epidural anesthesia with lidocaine and bupivacaine: effects of epinephrine on the plasma concentration profiles.

The effects of epinephrine on the plasma concentrations and derived pharmacokinetic parameters were studied after epidural administration of lidocaine and bupivacaine. Addition of epinephrine to the local anesthetic solutions reduced the mean peak plasma concentrations of lidocaine and bupivacaine from 2.2 to 1.7 micrograms/ml (23%) and from 0.73 to 0.53 microgram/ml (28%), respectively, but did not alter the times at which the peak concentrations were reached. Epinephrine also did not alter the terminal half-lives or the total plasma clearances. The results suggest that addition of epinephrine to minimize plasma concentrations is as relevant with bupivacaine as it is with lidocaine.