Despite Differences in Cytosolic Calcium Regulation, Lidocaine Toxicity Is Similar in Adult and Neonatal Rat Dorsal Root Ganglia In Vitro

Background Neuraxial local anesthetics may have neurological complications thought to be due to neurotoxicity. A primary site of action for local anesthetics is the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuron. Physiologic differences have been noted between young and adult DRG neurons; hence, we examined whether there were differences in lidocaine-induced changes in calcium and lidocaine toxicity in neonatal and adult rat DRG neurons.