indication

For production of local or regional anesthesia by infiltration techniques such as percutaneous injection and intravenous regional anesthesia by peripheral nerve block techniques such as brachial plexus and intercostal and by central neural techniques such as lumbar and caudal epidural blocks.

pharmacology

Dibucaine is an amide-type local anesthetic, similar to lidocaine.

mechanism of action

Local anesthetics block both the initiation and conduction of nerve impulses by decreasing the neuronal membrane's permeability to sodium ions through sodium channel inhibition. This reversibly stabilizes the membrane and inhibits depolarization, resulting in the failure of a propagated action potential and subsequent conduction blockade.

toxicity

Subcutaneous LD₅₀ in rat is 27 mg/kg. Symptoms of overdose include convulsions, hypoxia, acidosis, bradycardia, arrhythmias and cardiac arrest.

biotransformation

Primarily hepatic.

absorption

In general, ionized forms (salts) of local anesthetics are not readily absorbed through intact skin. However, both nonionized (bases) and ionized forms of local anesthetics are readily absorbed through traumatized or abraded skin into the systemic circulation.