“Research is formalised curiosity…”
Zara Hurston
The toxicity level for the widely used local anaesthetic lignocaine is a dose of 1.5mg/kg. How do we know this crucial fact? Well in the early 1990s, I was involved in a research project looking at the safety of lignocaine in inguinal hernia repairs. A remarkable paper came to my attention . In 1960, Professor Gordon Robson took 14 volunteer, healthy, medical students and infused IV lignocaine. Regular blood levels of lignocaine were sampled and the infusions continued until toxicity was observed. Toxicity was defined as profound hypotension, convulsions, apnoea or ventricular arrhythmias. Having achieved toxicity the lignocaine infusion was ceased, but having corrected the toxicities, a second lignocaine challenge was given to ensure the results were reliable. What we see above is a remarkable, invaluable and unrepeatable piece of medical research. #wellnowweknow #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 