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Prolonged nerve blockade in a patient treated with lithium
Authors Lehavi A, Sehnderey, Katz
Received 30 December 2011
Accepted for publication 17 January 2012
Published 2 April 2012 Volume 2012:5 Pages 15—16
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/LRA.S29593
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 3
Amit Lehavi, Boris Shenderey, Yeshayahu (Shai) Katz
Department of Anesthesiology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Abstract: We report a case of a patient, chronically treated with oral lithium, who presented with an extremely prolonged (42-hour) duration of sensory and motor paralysis following an uneventful infraclavicular block for hand surgery that was performed under ultrasound guidance using bupivacaine and lidocaine. Due to its direct effect on nerve conduction of action potential, we propose that lithium may have had a role in the unusually prolonged duration of a peripheral nerve block.
Keywords: nerve blockade, lithium, duration, anesthesia
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