The Antibacterial Activity of Topical Anesthetics

Antibacterial Properties of 2% Lidocaine and Reduced Rate of Endophthalmitis After Intravitreal Injection

“…Most evident is the fact that we cannot rule out the possibility of bias or chance explaining our results, because in many cases, method of anesthesia was provider specific. 18 In conclusion, our results suggest that application of subconjunctival 2% lidocaine/0.1% methylparaben for anesthesia may reduce the incidence of endophthalmitis after IVT injection. 6.…”

Antibiotic Resistance of Ocular Surface Flora With Repeated Use of a Topical Antibiotic After Intravitreal Injection

“…The effect of topical tetracaine may have been a contributing factor on this lower rate because topical anesthetic drops have been reported to have antibacterial effects with 24-hour incubation. 39 However, Kang and Lee 40 reported that with exposure of less than 2 minutes, there was no inhibition of organisms in in vitro studies. Nevertheless, the lower culture-positive rate may potentially dampen the potentially greater increase in resistance because local anesthetic is believed to act through cell membrane lysis and is not affected by degree of resistance; therefore, it would have acted on both sensitive and resistant organisms equally.…”

Use of Articaine in loco-regional anesthesia for day care surgical procedures

“…[45–47] The antibacterial properties can be of significantly useful in ophthalmology as has been successfully demonstrated in earlier studies. [4548] There is evidence of potential antibacterial role of lignocaine and articaine during treatment of open wounds colonized or infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [4549] The mechanism of antibacterial action is possibly mediated via inhibition of cell wall synthesis or distortion of cytoplasmic membrane by the local anesthetics.…”