Potential Side Effect of Inadvertent Intravascular Administration of Liposomal Bupivacaine

The project examines the safety aspects of the use of EXPAREL for peripheral nerve blocks. EXPAREL is a novel form of the commonly used bupivacaine, which if injected into the close proximity of nerves, can block the conduction of pain signals, thereby acting as a local anesthetic. Potential adverse events might arise during these procedures, if the drug is accidentally injected into the vasculature. The bupivacaine component of EXPAREL can provoke local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST), which in severe cases might cause convulsions and even heart failure. For this reason it is important to determine the tolerable and toxic doses of EXPAREL, and to study the effectiveness of currently recommended rescue protocols for accidental intravascular injection of local anesthetics in animal studies before human clinical trials can be started.