The effect of topical epinephrine on peripheral nerve conduction.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of direct application of epinephrine solution on peripheral nerve conduction latency and amplitude. It was hypothesized that epinephrine does not cause neurapraxia when a standard (1:10,000) solution is applied topically. Eleven animals were divided into two groups of five and six. Group I had their left sciatic nerves and group II had their right sciatic nerves treated with epinephrine-soaked patties. The contralateral nerves of each group served as controls. Nerve conduction studies were performed at baseline and immediately, at 1 minute, and at 5 minutes after patty application. Latency was found to increase above baseline immediately after patty application ( P=.003) for the epinephrine-treated and saline-treated groups. Furthermore, the amplitude at 5 minutes after patty application increased from baseline (P =.009) for both groups. These observed differences were below what is considered to be clinically significant. Topical epinephrine at a standard solution (1:10,000) does not lead to clinically significant nerve conduction abnormalities.