Carbocaine

CARBOCAINE is indicated for production of local anesthesia for dental procedures by infiltration or nerve block in adults and pediatric patients.

As with all local anesthetics, the dose varies and depends upon the area to be anesthetized, the vascularity of the tissues, individual tolerance and the technique of anesthesia. The lowest dose needed to provide effective anesthesia should be administered. For specific techniques and procedures refer to standard dental manuals and textbooks.

For infiltration and block injections in the upper or lower jaw, the average dose of 1 cartridge will usually suffice.

Each cartridge contains 1.7 mL (34 mg of 2% or 51 mg of 3%).

5.3 cartridges (180 mg of the 2% solution or 270 mg of the 3% solution) are usually adequate to effect anesthesia of the entire oral cavity. Whenever a larger dose seems to be necessary for an extensive procedure, the maximum dose should be calculated according to the patient's weight. A dose of up to 3 mg per pound of body weight may be administered. At any single dental sitting the total dose for all injected sites should not exceed 400 mg in adults.

The maximum pediatric dose should be

The following table, approximating these calculations, may also be used as a guide. This table is based upon a recommended maximum for larger pediatric population of 5.3 cartridges (the maximum recommended adult dose) during any single dental sitting, regardless of the pediatric patient's weight or (for 2% mepivacaine) calculated maximum amount of drug:

When using CARBOCAINE for infiltration or regional block anesthesia, injection should always be made slowly and with frequent aspiration.

Any unused portion of a cartridge should be discarded.

Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit.

Reactions to CARBOCAINE are characteristic of those associated with other amide-type local anesthetics. Systemic adverse reactions involving the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system usually result from high plasma levels (which may be due to excessive dosage, rapid absorption, inadvertent intravascular injection, or slow metabolic degradation), injection technique, or volume of injection.

A small number of reactions may result from hypersensitivity, idiosyncrasy or diminished tolerance to normal dosage on the part of the patient.

Persistent paresthesias of the lips, tongue, and oral tissues have been reported with the use of mepivacaine, with slow, incomplete, or no recovery. These post-markeing events have been reported chiefly following nerve blocks in the mandible and have involved the trigeminal nerve and its branches.

Reactions involving the

Allergic reactions are rare and may occur as a result of sensitivity to the local anesthetic and are characterized by cutaneous lesions of delayed onset or urticaria, edema and other manifestations of allergy. The detection of sensitivity by skin testing is of limited value. As with other local anesthetics, anaphylactoid reactions to Mepivacaine have occurred rarely. The reaction may be abrupt and severe and is not usually dose related. Localized puffiness and swelling may occur.

The administration of local anesthetic solutions containing vasopressors, such as Neo-Cobefrin, Epinephrine or Norepinephrine, to patients receiving tricyclic antidepressants or monoamine oxidase inhibitors may produce severe, prolonged hypertension. Concurrent use of these agents should generally be avoided. In situations when concurrent therapy is necessary, careful patient monitoring is essential.

Concurrent administration of vasopressor drugs and of ergot-type oxytocic drugs may cause severe, persistent hypertension or cerebrovascular accidents.

Phenothiazines and butyrophenones may reduce or reverse the pressor effect of Epinephrine.

Solutions containing a vasoconstrictor should be used cautiously in the presence of disease which may adversely affect the patient's cardiovascular system. Serious cardiac arrhythmias may occur if preparations containing a vasoconstrictor are employed in patients during or following the administration of potent inhalation anesthetics.

Patients who are administered local anesthetics are at increased risk of developing methemoglobinemia when concurrently exposed to the following drugs, which could include other local anesthetics:

CARBOCAINE (mepivacaine hydrochloride), a tertiary amine used as a local anesthetic, is 1-methyl-2', 6' - pipecoloxylidide monohydrochloride with the following structural formula:

C15H22N2 0.HCl  M.W. 282.81

It is a white, crystalline, odorless powder soluble in water, but very resistant to both acid and alkaline hydrolysis.

NEO-COBEFRIN, a sympathomimetic amine used as a vasoconstrictor in local anesthetic solution, is (-)--(1-Aminoethyl)-3, 4-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol with the following structural formula:

C9H13NO3  M.W. 183.21

It is a white or buff-colored crystalline solid, freely soluble in aqueous solutions of mineral acids, but practically insoluble in water.

CARBOCAINE 3% (30 mg/mL) injection and CARBOCAINE 2% (20 mg/mL) with NEO-COBEFRIN 1:20,000 injection are sterile solutions for injection.