Labor Epidural in a Patient Who is Allergic to Lidocaine: A Case Series

• Main Authors: Kamath A, Raghove V, Kalstein A, Yarmush J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-02-01
• Series: Local and Regional Anesthesia
• Subjects: lidocaine allergy; labor analgesia; chloroprocaine epidural; local anesthetic allergy; chloroprocaine patient-controlled epidural analgesia
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/labor-epidural-in-a-patient-who-is-allergic-to-lidocaine-a-case-series-peer-reviewed-article-LRA

Akshatha Kamath, Vikas Raghove, Allison Kalstein, Joel Yarmush Department of Anesthesiology, NYP Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, USACorrespondence: Vikas RaghoveDepartment of Anesthesia, NYP Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, 506 6 th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11215, USATel [phone]Email [e-mail]: Continuous epidural anesthesia is considered the best modality for pain relief during labor, local anesthetic allergy is an uncommon occurrence but if a patient has an allergy to bupivacaine or lidocaine owing to its cross-reactivity with bupivacaine then it becomes very challenging to manage labor analgesia. A direct challenge test to rule out actual hypersensitivity was not considered a viable option given the risks involved if a severe allergic reaction occurred with the test dose. Using IV opioid-based analgesia has harmful effects for both mother and the baby in addition to decreasing participation of mothers in the birthing process owing to its sedative properties. We report two cases where the mother had a history of lidocaine allergy, so labor analgesia was managed using chloroprocaine patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA).Keywords: lidocaine allergy, labor analgesia, chloroprocaine epidural, local anesthetic allergy, chloroprocaine patient-controlled epidural analgesia