50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting

A THREE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF INTRATHECAL CHLOROPROCAINE USE AFTER ITS RE-INTRODUCTION TO A TERTIARY CENTER IN CANADA

INTRODUCTION

•Intrathecal chloroprocaine has a fast onset and short duration of action, making it a suitable agent for ambulatory spinal anesthesia for short surgeries

•Availability in Canada ceased in 2012 due to the shortage of raw materials, but Health Canada approved its importation in 2021

•This study examined spinal chloroprocaine use since its re-introduction and reviewed its clinical performance

METHOD

•Retrospective medical records review

•Included adult patients who received chloroprocaine spinal anesthesia between November 2021 and January 2024.

•No exclusion criteria.

•Obtained information on patient demographics, medical history, surgical procedure, chloroprocaine characteristics (dose, duration, complications), and unplanned hospital admissions.

RESULTS

•112 patients received spinal chloroprocaine

•Mean (SD) patient age was 70 (13)

•Ephedrine or phenylephrine was used in 23/112 (21%) of cases.

•Two patients needed conversion to general anesthesia due to inadequate neuraxial block.

•Six unplanned hospital admissions, with four for surgical complications and one for rapid atrial fibrillation. One patient was admitted because of social factors.

DISCUSSION

•No major complications such as neurological deficits were observed or self-reported. We did not specifically screen for transient neurologic symptoms (TNS).

•Larger studies are needed to confirm chloroprocaine's safety and compare its performance to other spinal anesthetics on outcomes such as TNS

50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting

A THREE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF INTRATHECAL CHLOROPROCAINE USE AFTER ITS RE-INTRODUCTION TO A TERTIARY CENTER IN CANADA

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