International journal of clinical and experimental medicine
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Previous studies demonstrated that systemic administration of lidocaine could induce central nervous toxicities, including behavioral convulsion as well as cognitive and cellular injury. Ketamine, a general anesthetic, is commonly used as an adjuvant in regional anesthesia with combination of lidocaine. The present was designed to investigate the effects of ketamine in central nervous toxicities of lidocaine. ⋯ We conclude that both pre- and/or post-administration of ketamine could improve lidocaine induced convulsive behaviors. However, cognitive functions and pathology of neurons of these rats are further impaired, compared to the rats without ketamine. This result indicates that ketamine combined with lidocaine might be risky in regional anesthesia.