Bupivacaine Injection Leads to Muscle Force Reduction and Histologic Changes in a Murine Model

Author(s)

McNeill Ingham, Sheila Jean ^{[1, 2]} ; Pochini, Alberto de Castro ^{[1, 3]} ; de Oliveira, Daniel Antonio ^{[1, 3]} ; Garcia Lisboa, Bianca Cristina ^[4] ; Beutel, Abram ^[4] ; Valero-Lapchik, Valderez Bastos ^[4] ; Ferreira, Ana Maria ^[5] ; Abdalla, Rene Jorge ^{[1, 3]} ; Cohen, Moises ^{[1, 3]} ; Han, Sang Won ^{[6, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Orthopaed Surg, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Phys Med & Rehabil, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Ctr Sports Med, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Ctr Gene Therapy, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Fluminense, Ctr Med Sci, Sch Vet, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[6] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biophys, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PM&R; v. 3, n. 12, p. 1106-1109, DEC 2011.
• Web of Science Citations: 7

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of bupivacaine on muscle force and histology. We hypothesize that bupivacaine will worsen the muscle's physiological activity. Setting: Controlled laboratory experiment. Methods: Bupivacaine (0.5 mL, 0.5%) was injected into the mid belly and distal portions of the right gastrocnemius in 32 Wistar male rats (the left gastrocnemius was used as a control). After 5, 14, 21, and 28 days, in groups of 4, muscle force was evaluated and the animals were euthanized by an overdose of anesthetic for histologic evaluation. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze data from force and weight measurements. Only the values of P < .05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: Bupivacaine causes a process of degeneration-regeneration of the muscle fibers and it also causes a reduction in muscle force, which is significant at 2 and 3 weeks and does not normalize at 4 weeks. The muscle injury is obvious after 5 days, and the degenerative process is predominant at 2 and 3 weeks. We found an increase in muscle mass in the acute phase and a decrease in muscle force. Conclusion: Although our results do not allow a direct clinical application, we believe that caution should be warranted when intramuscular bupivacaine is used. PM R 2011;3:1106-1109 (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/00859-6 - Role of GM-CSF in the repair of muscule injury: gene therapy for muscle injuries
• Grantee: Sang Won Han
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants