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Epinephrine in digital blocks: refuting dogma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Peter G. Katis
Peter G. Katis*
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine, University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto
*
Toronto General Hospital, R. Fraser Elliot Building, GS-434, 200 Elizabeth St., Toronto ON M5G 2C4; 416 340-3856, fax 416 340-4300, peter.katis@uhn.on.ca

Abstract

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In the medical community there is a widely held belief that epinephrine should not be used with lidocaine when attempting a digital block because it will cause tissue gangrene. This belief is reinforced by several of the more prominent emergency textbooks, but a review of the medical literature fails to reveal a sound basis for this dogma.

Keywords

lidocaineepinephrinefinger
Type
Medical Mythology • Mythes médicaux
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , July 2003 , pp. 245 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2003

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