Liberal use of local anaesthetic and the risk of toxicity in elective arthroplasties at a tertiary teaching hospital

Background Local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) is a life-threatening potential complication that may follow the administration of local anaesthetic (LA) drugs, and is cumulative across the drug class. Local anaesthetics are commonly administered via different routes for elective orthopaedic procedures – both by anaesthetists and surgeons. We hypothesized that total doses of LA may be routinely encroaching upon toxicity. Methods All total hip or knee arthroplasties (THAs and TKAs) performed within a 3 month period at the John Hunter Hospital (tertiary referral centre and teaching hospital) were audited to assess total administration of LA. Demographics, surgical characteristics, use of general anaesthesia or sedation, and use of local anaesthetic via any route of administration was recorded. For each patient, a weight-based theoretical maximum safe dose was calculated and compared against the dose they received. Data is presented as mean ± SD, percentages. Statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05. Results 130 THAs and TKAs were identified within the audit period. 52 patients exceeded their drug-class theoretical maximum safe dose. 49 patients exceeded their weight-based maximum dose for a single LA agent, in all cases ropivacaine. Non-obese individuals receive significantly higher mean dose than obese individuals (119.4% [98.6–140.3] vs 78.82% [65.95–91.69], p = 0.001). No LAST events were identified. Conclusions Patients who received elective total hip or knee arthroplasties were exposed to concerningly high total doses of local anaesthetic, suggesting that greater awareness of the additive toxicity of drugs within this class is required.