Abstract
Thirty-five adult pàtients with rheumatoid arthritis received for 36 interscalene brachial plexus blocks a standard dose of bupivacaine 200 mg, regardless of the weight (range 39.2–702.5kg) of the patient. The peak venous serum concentrations (Cmax) of bupivacaine, measured by HPLC. were in the range 0.82–4.30 mg litre−1; there were no signs of toxicity. There was a very significant inverse correlation between the Cmax of bupivacaine and the weight of the patient (r = −0.5922; t = −4.285; P = 0.0001, Pearson's test). In spite of the correlation, only 35.1% of the total variance could be explained by regression. Thus weight had little influence on Cmax under interscalene brachial plexus block.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: