A brief review of innovative uses for local anesthetics

Purpose of review Local anesthetics are drugs which have many potentially beneficial actions, especially when used as a continuous intravenous infusion. The following review gives an update on the most recent literature along with some interesting and promising areas where systemic local anesthetics are being implemented. Recent findings Surprisingly little research has been conducted with the use of systemic local anesthetics when considering their cost effectiveness, good side effect profile when used in low-dose infusions, and promising results in the available literature. The in-vivo studies, ranging from case reports to randomized controlled trials, have small sample sizes, yet most have found that low-dose systemic infusions are efficacious for various conditions. Summary Local anesthetics have many beneficial properties, and promising results have been seen when low-dose infusions are implemented. This review briefly describes the anti-inflammatory properties of local anesthetics and discusses the benefits seen when used systemically for neuroprotection, postoperative ileus, decompression sickness, and glaucoma.