Effect of local anesthetics on renal function: An animal study in Iran

Although most of the metabolism of local anesthetics (LAs) takes place in the liver, no study has investigated the effect of these anesthetics on the kidney function of single‑kidney humans or animals. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of LAs on renal function in single‑kidney rats.

The present experimental animal study with two control groups was done in an animal laboratory. Forty‑two rats were randomly assigned to seven groups of six rats, including two control groups and five experimental groups. The experimental groups underwent intraperitoneal anesthesia with 2% lidocaine, 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine, 4% articaine, 3% prilocaine with 0.03 IU Felypressin, and 3% mepivacaine, respectively. Unilateral nephrectomy was done. After 24 h, the rats’ blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Cr), and blood specific gravity (BSG) were measured. A standard dose of anesthetics was injected into the peritoneum for 4 days afterward. Then, these indices were measured again 24 h after the last injection. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS (version 21.0). One‑way analysis of variance, Tukey’s honestly significant difference post hoc, and paired t‑tests were used for statistical analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The results indicated significant differences among groups in the rats’ BUN and serum Cr 24 h after nephrectomy (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in BUN, BSG, and Cr among groups after the interventions.

LAs did not affect renal function in single‑kidney rats. Therefore, dentists can use the anesthetics in single‑kidney people.