Jm. Kreitzer et Ss. Reuben, CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM TOXICITY IN A PATIENT RECEIVING CONTINUOUS INTRAPLEURAL BUPIVACAINE, Journal of clinical anesthesia, 8(8), 1996, pp. 666-668
A patient developed signs of central nervous system (CNS) toxicity dur
ing treatment of Postthoracotomy pain with a continuous intrapleural b
upivacaine infusion. This incident occurred after the patients chest t
ube was clamped, without any decrease in the bupivacaine infusion rate
. This is the first reported case of CNS toxicity in a patient receivi
ng a continuous intrapleural bupivacaine infusion. Possible etiologies
of this complication are discussed, as are ways to avoid such a compl
ication in the future. (C) 1996 by Elsevier Science Inc.