[The question of equal potency of etidocaine and bupivacaine in peridural anesthesia].

A double blind clinical trial was carried out on randomised groups of 20 patients each undergoing surgery for varicose veins to compare the actions of etidocaine 1% and bupivacaine 0.5% and 0.75% with adrenaline 1:200.000. Bupivacaine 0.75% and etidocaine 1% were found to be equipotent, with a rapid onset and long duration of anaesthesia, and a comparable degree of profound motor block. The latency period of Etidocaine was markedly increased in the L V and S I segments, probably due to its high fat solubility. 0.5% bupivacaine, compared to the other preparations, showed significantly less motor block and duration of analgesia. Unlike other investigators, "spotty-analgesia" was not found in this series.