Antimicrobial activity of ropivacaine and other local anaesthetics

Abstract

Background and objective It is claimed that local anaesthetics have antimicrobial properties. Our aim was to investigate the antimicrobial effects of different concentrations of ropivacaine, bupivacaine, lidocaine and prilocaine on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Methods All local anaesthetic dilutions were exposed to microorganisms for 0, 30, 60, 120, 240 min at room temperature. The inoculums taken from diluted suspensions were reinoculated on blood agar and incubated for 18±24 h at 35°C and then the colonies were counted. Results Ropivacaine did not inhibit any of the microorganisms tested. Bupivacaine reduced the viable cells of P. aeruginosa at 0.5% and 0.25% solutions. Lidocaine 5% and 2% and prilocaine 2.0% dilutions reduced the viable cells of all microorganisms tested. Prilocaine 1.0% reduced the viable cells of E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Lidocaine 1% reduced only the viable cells of P. aeruginosa and prilocaine 0.5% reduced only E. coli. Conclusion Ropivacaine had no antimicrobial effect on microorganisms tested. Bupivacaine showed poor antimicrobial effectiveness. Lidocaine and prilocaine had more powerful antimicrobial effects than the other two local anaesthetics.

Effects of peritoneal lavage with lidocaine on survival of rats with fecal peritonitis

“…Besides their anti-inflammatory effect, some anesthetics present bactericide action against some bacteria at the laboratory level 19,20 . In this experiment, the test of sensitivity of bacteria isolated from the abdominal cavity of the rats was not done because in a pilot study it was not defined whether lidocaine presented bacteriostatic or bactericide effects.…”

“…Mice having septic peritonitis induced according to an experimental model 17 , treated with 5% or 10% lidocaine, or 1% or 2% bupivacaíne subcutaneously by an infusion pump, decreased mortality and protected rats from hepatic and renal hepatic dysfunction, by attenuating the hiperinflammatory response 18 . Some anesthetics furthermore, presented at the laboratory level, a bactericidal effect against some bacteria 19,20 . Based on these aspects, we questioned whether intraperitoneral application of a local anesthetic dissolved in saline, could improve the survival of animals submitted to peritonitis.…”

A novel lidocaine hydrochloride ophthalmic gel for topical ocular anesthesia

“…Higher dose lidocaine may also protect from bacterial infections and could potentially reduce the risk of intraocular infections relative to other topical anesthetic agents. [16][17][18] The hydroxypropylcellulose aids in preserving the corneal epithelium after topical anesthesia is applied, serving an added benefit in the aged population in whom most of the ophthalmic procedures are done. With the dramatic rise in intravitreal injections and other ophthalmology procedures comes a need for better topical anesthetic agents.…”

“…Concentrations of lidocaine that are greater than 2% (and up to 5%) can be effective in stopping bacterial growth. [16][17][18] The need for safe, long-acting topical ocular anesthetic agents is an ongoing need for ophthalmology practices. This has been highlighted with the adoption of intravitreal administration of pharmacologic agents for many retina vascular diseases.…”

Antimicrobial Activity of Lidocaine, Bupivacaine, Mepivacaine and Ropivacaine on Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis

“…In 2010, Kose and colleagues [4] showed that under in vivo conditions different local anaesthetics did not have any antimicrobial effects. Also Aydin et al [5] found no antimicrobial properties of ropivacaine but antimicrobial effectiveness of lidocaine and prilocain was observed. The antibacterial activity of lidocaine was negative in a study performed by Berg et al [3] but they showed that EMLA ® has a powerful antibacterial effect.…”